


Forgotten Avengers: Book 8

by Agent Finlay (AgentFinlay), AgentFinlay



Series: Forgotten Avengers: The Recovered Files of Skoll & Hati [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23417410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentFinlay/pseuds/Agent%20Finlay, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentFinlay/pseuds/AgentFinlay
Relationships: bucky barnes/oc, captain america/OC
Series: Forgotten Avengers: The Recovered Files of Skoll & Hati [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604899





	1. Red Hands, Black Deeds

****

**[Bucky - 03:09 April 3rd, 2016 - BUCHAREST]**

_ Red Hands Black Deeds - Shaman’s harvest _

_Желан [_ _Longing]_

 _Ржавыйие [_ _Rusted]_

 _Семнадцать [_ _Seventeen]_

 _Рассвет [_ _Daybreak]_

 _Печь [_ _Furnace]_

 _Девять [_ _Nine]_

 _Добросердечный [_ _Benign]_

 _Возвращение на Родину [_ _Homecoming]_

 _Один [_ _One]_

 _Грузовой вагон [_ _Freight car]_

[ _Good morning Soldier]_

“доброе утро солдат”

_I waited in the dark, the side road was empty this late at night, the order for no witnesses would be a simple compliance. When the car passed my location, I followed. It was a civilian vehicle, 86 Cadillac Fleetwood, nothing too complicated when it came to disabling. I pulled alongside the car holding the small flash grenade in my hand, I'd been prepared to smash the passenger window but the smell of cigar smoke wafting out told me that it was open. I threw in the flashbang and kept going as the driver jerked the wheel into a tree. I circled, returning to the scene before ripping open the trunk and taking the case inside. Extraction complete._

_The man was crawling out of the smoking car, begging for me to help his wife._

_I had to complete the rest of my mission._

_No witnesses._

I woke up in a cold sweat, it had been months since my last nightmare, I couldn’t say that I missed them. I sat up on the mattress as I looked around the small apartment. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was mine, and it was more than I'd given myself in a very long time. I reached over to the milk crate that served as my nightstand, pulling a notebook out from under the lamp as I clicked it on. I started to write down the details of the dream before I forgot them, a habit gotten into when I realized most of the nightmares were probably real. 

  
  


**[Steve - 22:06 April 27th, 2016 - LAGOS]**

“We’re sure he’s here?” I asked as we leaned over the table, Nat pulled out the stills from local security cameras. 

“I’m sure, I just don’t know what he’s up to.” She pointed to a map with every camera that had spotted our quarry. “Sightings seem to be centered around this area.” 

“What’s there?” I didn’t see anything worth noting on the layout. 

“Not much, nothing I can imagine him wanting to hit.” She shrugged. 

“What about this?” Sam pointed to the only large building that was central to the area. 

“Police station, jail. I checked the roster, there isn’t anyone with connections to Rumlow.”

“Doesn’t mean that’s not the target.” I looked at the map, turning it to get a few angles. “He might be after more weapons, that’s what he took last time, but my gut is saying it’s bigger than that, I can't see the target being anything but the I.I.D.” I shook my head. 

“But we haven’t seen him or any of his goons sniffing around there.” Nat countered. 

“I know.” I ran a hand through my hair, we'd been going in circles about this for hours. “Elena, you and Wanda got anything?” 

“Nothing.” Elena answered over comms. I glanced over at Fin who was sitting reclined in a chair by the hotel’s window, her feet propped on the sill. She felt me looking and answered without my asking. 

“Nothing here either.”

“Alright.” I exhaled. We were close, so close. We weren’t letting him get away again. “E, you and Wanda head in, I’ll take it from here. Get some rest.”

“10-4.” 

“Nat, you and Sam rest up. Fin and I will take the next watch, come get you in a few hours to swap out. Intel said whatever is happening isn’t happening until morning so don’t think he’s going to make a move tonight, but I can't guarantee that. I want us alert, but I also want us ready for whatever he might throw at us tomorrow.”

“Roger that.” Nat started to roll up the maps and papers, shoving them into a bag. 

“You ready?” I yelled over to Fin, she hopped out of the chair with a bounce in her step. 

“To get out of this room, you bet your star spangled ass I am.” She walked past me out into the hall, pulling the black hoodie over her hair as she exited. 

“How come when I say shit like that, I get yelled at?” Sam grinned at me.

“Shut up.” I threw a pillow off the bed at him as I followed Fin out. 

  
  


**[Fin - 03:00 April 27th, 2016 - LAGOS]**

_I had me a girl - The Civil Wars_

”Hey, none of that.” Steve elbowed me in the side as I yawned. 

“You’re not the boss of me.” I elbowed him back. He was, technically speaking, the boss of me but I was too tired and bored for that level of logical argument. We’d been after Rumlow for a while now and every tip we got was either totally off the mark or a day late and a dollar short. I was starting to think he was the one planting the leads just to fuck with us until we sighted him in Freetown. After Sam and Nat left the building we waited a couple beats before going in, trying to be inconspicuous. It was hard to do, I'm sure both of us looked out of place here and anyone paying attention was bound to see the shield under Steve’s hoodie. When we got to the room I crashed face first into the bed, not caring how ungraceful it looked. 

I heard him chuckle as he sat the shield on the table where he’d left his helmet before walking over to me. He unzipped my hoodie and started unbuckling my shoulder harness. 

“Steven Grant Rogers, what ARE you doing?” I pretended to be shocked at his advances. 

“You aren’t sleeping with guns on.” he laughed. 

“You sleep with the shield! Don’t deny it.” I teased.

“The shield isn’t going to shoot me. Come on.” He pulled me up by my sleeves. 

“Alright, alright. I need a shower anyway.” I kissed him on the cheek as I got to my feet and walked to the bathroom. I started the water and made sure our companions had left clean towels. I took off my gear, carefully placing it in a neat pile before stripping off the form fitting layers underneath. I peeked out into the bedroom, Steve had his back to me as he folded his uniform, his snug blue boxer briefs the only thing left on. I tiptoed out onto the carpet, holding my breath as I tried not to make a sound. He noticed when he heard me move the shield but I held it securely in front of me before he managed to turn around. I wasn’t wearing anything behind the shield and by the look on his face, and the state of his underpants, he knew it. 

“I thought you were taking a shower?” he raised an eyebrow at me, before taking a step in my direction. 

“I am.” I grinned. “But I wanted company.”

“Is that so?” He sidestepped the table, I kept the shield between us.

“I thought, if the shield was good enough to sleep with you, it was good enough to shower with me...besides, it looked like it could use a good wash.”

“Did it?” I nodded and he dropped his last article of clothing to the floor before walking to me, only stopping when his body touched the shield. Looking down at me I could feel his body heat as it warmed the metal between us. He ran a finger along the rim of the metal, surreptitiously brushing the tops of my breasts pressed to the inside as he pretended to check for dust. “Looks fine to me.” He put his hand on the top of the shield as he leaned down to kiss me, moving it out of his way while I was distracted. I stepped back toward the sound of the running water and he matched my steps, we walked until my back hit the wall and he lifted me against it. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding on to him as he pulled us into the shower. The water was a comfortable temperature but cooler than the humid air that filled the room. I felt my skin prickle with goosebumps as Steve’s mouth found mine, rough and unyielding. I pulled his face from mine, breathing heavily. 

“What’s your hurry?” I panted. He lowered my feet to the textured tub floor, moving one of the hands that had been bracing my legs until his fingertips brushed between them. I let out an involuntary gasp at the contact, the warmth of his hands a burning contrast to the rivulets streaming down our skin.

“I can go slow.” he demonstrated, stroking along the folds but not penetrating as the fingers of this other hand gathered at the base of my skull, wrapping the length of my hair around a loose fist. 

“Nevermind, what was I thinking...” I wriggled in his grasp, trying to will his fingers to delve deeper. “Fast is good, go back to fast.” I gasped as he tightened his grip on my hair in response, bringing my face to his in a frantic kiss before pulling back, holding me just out of reach. I couldn't move to kiss him, he held me fast, but I was standing close enough to feel his erection brushing against my abdomen. When I reached out for him he leaned away, His firm grip on my hair holding me tight to the wall. With a mischievous grin he pulled me forward a step and turned my back to him, holding me against his chest as his teeth grazed my shoulder from behind. I felt his cock pressed against the small of my back as the hand not entangled in my hair roamed over my breasts. He took my nipple between his fingers, squeezing until I arched my back against him. I reached behind me, regaining the grip on him as I writhed under his touch. He allowed a few strokes before he pulled my hands away, placing my palms one at a time against the cool shower tile in front of me. 

“Keep those where I can see them.” He pulled my face to his over my shoulder, his voice a low growl as he slid his cock between my thighs. The tip brushed against a wetness that had nothing to do with the shower as he rocked back and forth, his free hand finding my clit and circling it with just enough pressure to drive me insane as I tried to keep my hands on the tile. His mouth left a trail of kisses from my shoulder to my throat before stopping to nip at the skin behind my ear. 

“Steve.” I moaned as I felt myself rising on my toes again, trying to change the angle. I wanted to move, I wanted to reach between my legs and guide him into me. I wanted him inside me.

“Shhh.” He whispered roughly. “Unless you want me to stop, the only sound I want to hear from you is--” He leaned into me, two fingers sliding between my folds as he pressed his palm over my clit causing me to cry out in a demonstration of the sound he wanted to hear.

“But I, aaahhh.” I tried to talk and he moved his hand, fingers stroking until I couldn’t form words. “Fuck.” I exhaled as he laughed against my ear. 

“Is that what you want?” He asked, slowly withdrawing his fingers from me, leaving me empty. 

“Yes.” He let me get out the word. 

“Yes, what?” I felt him guiding himself between my legs, rubbing the tip of his cock along my slit but not penetrating. 

“Yes, Sir.” I answered on instinct, the response programmed in my brain. I heard him laughing behind me as he pressed inward, parting me slowly as he buried himself in me. He turned my face to kiss me over my shoulder before letting go of my hair, one hand settling on my hip to control the rhythm as the other explored my breast. 

“For the record, I would have also accepted ‘please’.” He whispered between kisses, holding me steady under the spray of the shower the water cooling the swaths of heat left behind by his touch. I broke the kiss and leaned further forward, our height difference making the angle awkward but not enough for me to stop him. Bent forward over the tap I braced myself against the wall and leaned into his thrusts as he went harder and faster, his fingers digging into my hips. The friction of his throbbing cock inside me made my knees buckle with every stroke and my legs started to shake. 

“Please.” I whimpered, I was so close. “Please, please, please, Steve, please I--” my words were cut off as the waves of orgasm rolled through my body. He held me up, pumping against me a few languid times as I rode out my orgasm before pulling out and gently turning me to face him again. He walked me back under the water, hand gently stroking my inner thigh as he held me close, giving me a moment to catch my breath while letting me know he wasn’t done with me yet. I laid soft kisses across his jaw and lips, the only response I had the energy for in the moment, enjoying the aftermath of coming so hard. 

“Sir?” He raised an eyebrow. 

“In my defense, with our line of work ‘sir’ is usually the right answer...and you do out rank me.” I leaned my cheek against his chest, swirling a finger in the stream of water running between us before closing my lips over his warm skin, planning to leave a pattern of marks across his flawless chest. I jumped when someone knocked on our door. 

Shit. 

He kissed my cheek and grabbed a towel, tucking one of my guns into it as he wrapped it around his waist. I hoped it wasn’t serious, I could get to my other guns and shoot someone if i needed to but I wasn't sure I could fight anyone with my legs still shaking. He undid the door latch, leaving the chain in place and I watched through the gap in the shower curtain as he opened the door. The hotel’s desk clerk was in the hall. 

“Is everything alright?” he asked in accented english. I could see Steve’s ears turning red from here. 

“Yes, everything is fine.” he reassured the man. 

“Are you sure? The room below, they heard screaming.”

“Yeah, that was...uh….”Steve fumbled and I remembered that he was a soldier, not a spy. I grabbed the other towel, wrapping it around my body and carefully walking to the bathroom door. 

“Hi!” I smiled sweetly at the middle aged man, he tried to keep his eyes on my face like a gentleman. “I’m so sorry, I'm afraid that was my fault. I was getting in the shower and...I thought there was a spider.” I put on my best ‘embarrassed american woman’ face. 

“A spider!?” He looked abashed at the idea that there could be a spider in his hotel.

“It’s fine, really. It...this is so embarrassing, it was just a shadow!” I smiled again. 

“Oh!” the man laughed softly, “Well, that is alright then. But please, try to be quiet. It is very late and people are sleeping.” 

“I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again.” 

The man nodded and Steve closed the door, looking at me. 

“Spider?” 

“What were you going to tell him? That you made your girlfriend orgasm so hard that she went temporarily paraplegic?” His face went red and his eyes drifted to my bare legs at the mention of them. I raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, Captain Rogers, but that man said we need to try to be quiet.” He reached out, slipping a finger between my breasts and the towel. 

“I guess you’ll have to be quiet then.” He didn’t have to pull hard for the towel to fall, the white cloth pooling around my feet. 

“Yes, Sir.” I’d said it to be a smart ass, expecting him to laugh, but the hungry look in his eyes as they roamed over me told me otherwise. He stepped forward, reaching past me to put my gun back on the table before dropping his own towel to join mine. He laid a hand across my sternum, spanning across the base of my throat as he pushed me gently backwards, steering me towards the bed. When the back of my calves hit the bed frame he pushed, knocking me off balance and sending me bouncing onto the mattress. He stood over me, parting my legs with one hand as he stroked his erection with the other. I took in the view for a moment before the heat between my legs started to feel hollow with his absence. “Steve…?” He knelt on the edge of the bed between my parted knees, his hand continuing to work his cock as he started trailing his fingertips up and down the top of my thigh. 

“You know what?” He spoke softly but there was an edge to his voice. “I think I liked you begging.” His fingers reached the inside of my thigh, threatening to give me what I wanted before trailing back toward my knee.

“Begging? I wasn’t begging?” I scoffed as I willed myself not to lift by hips toward his touch. 

“Oh really?” His eyebrows rose. “ _please, please, Steve, please_ ” He put on a breathy high pitched voice. I reached above my head to grab a pillow, throwing it at his face. 

“I do NOT sound like that.” I protested with a laugh as he knocked the pillow to the ground before his hand went back to caressing my thighs. “ I might concede to making polite requests under duress.”

“Duress? Well I would hate to put you in a situation like that so…” He leaned over me, running his hands up my sides, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breast as they passed before moving my arms above my head. I couldn’t keep my back from arching toward his touch. He pinned both of my wrists in one large fist and took himself in his free hand above me. “I’ll just have to take care of it myself.” I watched as he balanced, stretched over where I was spread below him. His eyes raked over my body and his breath sped up as he moved his hand up and down the length of him, I wiggled under his grasp trying to get my hands free. I wanted to touch him, wanted my hands to be the ones wrapped around his cock, feeling it throb under my touch. 

“Steve.” He held me fast but his eyes moved to my face. “...please.” I whispered. I knew the please was what he wanted and that he was torturing me because I’d already gotten my satisfaction, but it didn’t stop me from wanting more. I was willing to play along to get it. 

“You want to help?” My eyes wandered down his body and a spark of rebellion fluttered in my chest. I knew he wanted me to say please again but...

“Yes...Sir.” I grinned, shifting my body under him, daring him to do something. He freed himself to touch the warm slit between my thighs with his fingertips, never probing deeper than his first knuckle as he watched my face. I chewed my bottom lip as I tried to wriggle toward his hand.

“That seems like it’s helping you, not me.” He dragged his hands up my body, leaving a trail of my own wetness up my belly before cupping a breast roughly in his palm. I gasped at the touch, desperate for more. He straightened, pulling me up with him, never letting go of my wrists. My eyes dropped to his groin, now level with my chin, and he saw me looking. 

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes, Sir.” I wasn’t quite desperate enough to play by his rules just yet, or at least I could pretend not to be for a while longer. 

“For a please, I’ll give you your hands back.” He negotiated, using his free hand to brush my hair out of my face, I met his eyes and said nothing. Two could play this game. “Oh? I can keep these then?” He squeezed my hands, shifting them both into one of his as he held them against his chest. 

“Yes, Sir.” His cock twitched in front of me as he let out a sigh.

“What am I going to do with you, Doll.” The pet named sent a shiver through me, he only slipped into 40s Brooklyn Steve when he was worked up. Good. 

“You could fuck me.” I suggested, adding at the last minute. “Sir.”

“You could ask nicely.” He grinned. “Or you find another use for that smart mouth of yours.”

“You like my smart mouth.” My tongue snaked out across my top lip as emphasis before I parted my lips for him. He held himself for me as I leaned forward, sucking in his cock as I ran my tongue over the tip and tasting the pearl of precum that had been forming there. He moved his hand to my hair, pushing my mouth further down the length of him. My eyes watered as he slid into the back of my throat, the girth of him sending a flash of panic to my brain as it screamed that I would choke but I didn’t stop. I felt his fingers dig into my scalp as he inhaled sharply, I hummed a response of approval as he loosened his grip enough for me to move, stroking him with my mouth with a steady tempo. His breath quickened with every thrust, gravely sounds of pleasure escaping his lips. I twisted my hands in his, holding on to his fingers as he squeezed mine back. He stilled my head by the hair as I pulled back once more, stopping me from taking him all the way into my mouth again. “Ah, shit. Alright Doll, I can let your hair loose and finish this here or...If you ask nicely, I’ll see if I can’t get you to beg me to let you come again.” He let go of my hair, waiting for my answer. I leaned back, letting him slide from my lips with a pop. As soon as he was free I was flat on my back, my hands still trapped in his above me. He spread my legs with his, opening me wide under him as he rubbed the head of his cock against my clit. 

“Say it.” He growled down at me. 

“Fuck me.” I tried to move my hips to slide him inside me but he was in control. He softened the pressure as he pulled back every so slightly and I heard myself pout. 

“Say it, and I’ll give you what you want, Doll.” 

“Please…” I pleaded, arching my hips again as I felt him press forward. 

“Please, what?” Now he was just being mean, I could tell by the catch in his voice that he wanted this as much as i did. I locked eyes with him and chose my words carefully. 

“Please, fuck me, Sir.” He drove into me in a single thrust, his hips crashing into me hard enough to bruise. His mouth covered mine as his hand found my breast, grasping desperately as he ground us both into the mattress. I felt my mouth moving, trying to give him the word he’d been asking to hear but the sounds that escaped me were only a flurry of desperate sounds. I felt his hips dig against mine as he came, the spasm of his cock inside me sending me over the edge of my own release. He laid on top of me, breathing heavily as he let me writhe under him for a moment longer. 

“Are you alright?” He smiled down at me in his arms. 

“Mhmmm.” I said in the way of affirmation, unable to recall words just yet. 

“You sure I didn’t hurt you?” He looked me over. “You’re..that was okay?” It was sweet that he asked, I’d finally gotten him to stop asking every time but when he thought he might have gotten too rough he always checked in to make sure he hadn’t crossed a line. So far, he hadn’t. I kissed him softly on the lips, smiling up at him. 

“Yes, Sir.” I felt his spent cock give an excited twitch between us at the phrase. He looked down to where our bodies touched, brows knitting in mild confusion. 

“That might become a problem.”

* * *

**[Steve - 08:14 April 28th, 2016 - LAGOS]**

I watched the crowd below from the hotel window, trying to keep an eye on the situation at hand and not let Fin be a distraction as she got dressed beside me. Wanda was at one of the hotel’s tables having a cup of coffee while she kept an eye on the street. 

“All right, what do you see?” I asked as she added another packet of sugar to her cup.

“Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target.” She wasn’t wrong, for Rumlow and his crew this was basically taking candy from a baby. It didn’t make sense. 

“There's an ATM in the south corner, which means…” I made her answer, she was still in training after all. 

“Cameras.” She answered without hesitation. 

“Both cross streets are one way.” I pointed out.

“So, compromised escape routes.”

“Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out.” Rumlow wasn’t afraid to hurt people to get what he wanted. “You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?”

“Yeah, the red one? It's cute.” She was being a smart ass, I shot a look in Fin’s direction. She was a bad influence. 

“It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns,"Nat explained. "which means more headaches for somebody." 

"Probably us.” Elena added helpfully.

“You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?” Wanda countered.

“Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.” Natasha pointed out. 

“Anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?” Sam asked from the rooftop.

“Not to my face. Why? Did you hear something?” I could hear the smile in Nat’s voice, I was glad everyone was getting along but we had a job to do. 

“Eyes on target, folks.” Fin walked up behind me, putting her arms around my waist. I put my hand over hers, enjoying one last private moment with her before she headed down to join the others. “You ready?” She stood on her tiptoes to answer, her breath tickling my ear.

“Yes, Sir.” She whispered and I felt the front of my uniform suddenly in need of adjusting. 

“Fin…” I had meant it as a warning but it was half hearted at best. 

“I’m going, I’m going.” She kissed me on my cheek before slipping out of my grasp and walking out of the room. I turned my attention back to the comms. 

“This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months.. I don’t want to lose him.”

“If he sees us coming that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us.” Sam noted optimistically. 

“And to think, he barely even knows you! For the rest of us it’s personal.” Fin joined the conversation as I watched her exit the front steps and sit at the table with Wanda. Movement up the street caught my eye, a garbage truck was pushing its way through traffic with no regard for pedestrians or other vehicles. 

“Sam, see that garbage truck?” I gave him a second to get eyes on the target. “Tag it.” I waited while he sent out the done. 

“That truck’s loaded for max weight, and the driver’s armed.”

“It’s a battering ram.” Nat put it together before the rest of us, looked up the street to see where it was headed. It wasn’t the police station. 

“Go now.” 

“Why?” 

“He’s not hitting the police.” I ran to the roof, making it to Sam in time to watch the truck crash into the gate and guard station of the Institute for infectious diseases. Two more trucks, the kind you see as rentals in the states, rushed the compound through the newly made entrance. Soldiers in tactical gear and gas masks started to unload, firing rifles across the courtyard. Four of them separated from the group, launching gas canisters into the upper levels of the building. “Come on.” Sam grabbed me by my shoulder straps as I jumped off the building and we got to the I.D.D. first. Sam dropped me into the courtyard where a security truck broke my fall and I barely got to my feet before someone was shooting at me. I kicked the truck into him, throwing the shield at another and catching it on the rebound. A third tried to go for higher ground and I ran onto the hood, not slowing down as I brought both feet into his chest. I heard a bone crack under the kevlar plate as his body flew into the building. 

“Body armor, AR-15s. I make...7 hostiles.” I wasn’t counting the three I’d taken out.

“There’s a second truck outside the main gate, at least 4 more.” Fin sounded out of breath and I wondered how many there were before she got there.

“Rumlow?” Elena asked, apparently he wasn’t in truck number two.

“Not yet. You two handle the second truck, keep and eye on the perimeter for more.”

“Roger. “ Elena confirmed as a body fell from the roof, landing on a van. 

“I make five.” Same called from the roof as Wanda came into view, landing across the courtyard. A hostile came at her from behind one of the vehicles, she caught him and lifted him off the ground for Sam to knock out. “Four.” 

  
  


“Perimeter is clear.” Elena announced while I waited for Sam’s redwing drone to scan the building, I wasn't going in blind. 

“Rumlow is on the third floor.”

“Wanda.” I nodded at her, she could do this. “Just like we practiced.” I started into an easy jog in the direction of the building. 

“What about the gas?” She had a fair point. 

“Get it out.” I hoped she could, if not i’d be holding my breath and hoping for the best.

I stepped onto one of the trucks for a boost, Wanda caught me in the air and threw me into the third floor window. I hit the first man i saw, pulling off his gas mask and sending him into a choking fit before knocking him out of my way. I ducked behind a pillar as I took gunfire, leaning out to throw the shield at him. It bounced off a few walls before making contact with his head and I ran at him, taking him down as the gas began to dissipate. Just in time too, i was almost regretting not keeping the one i'd ripped off the first guy.

“We’ve got an AFV. Heavy duty, tactical. At least ten hostiles, same gear. “ Elena called out over comms. “Fin and I are on it, but if it’s their way out we’re gonna need backup.”

“Going by the grappling hook zipline, I'm going to assume it’s their way out.” Fin added. 

“If it is, they’re heading your way." I looked at the empty biohazard cell. "Rumlow has a biological weapon." 

**[Elena - 08:46 April 28th, 2016 - LAGOS]**

“I’m on it.” Natasha’s voice was drowned out by the sound of an approaching motorcycle, I watched as she laid it down, sending it into the body of the closest target. She didn’t slow down as she threw a taser-disc at a second man, body slamming him as she kicked a third. Fin ran past me, clotheslining the two men nearest us as she ran to back up Nat. I heard metal on metal as something slammed into the truck’s reinforced door, out of site. 

“We’re outnumbered.” Fin admitted over the radio as more men came out of the woodworks around us. “And we have eyes on Rumlow.” She nodded in the direction of the tactical truck where Nat was engaged with him. 

“Black widow has made contact!” I couldn’t help but be a little excited when she hit him in the neck with a spark of electricity. It was a bit disconcerting when he leaned in close to say something instead of collapsing like a normal human being. He threw her into the vehicle and dropped something in behind her, too late I realised what it was. “NAT!” Fin and I ran toward her, forgetting about Rumlow in the heat of the moment. Fin beat me there, pulling at the doors. I heard the latch break seconds before I tackled her, the heat of the explosion burning the ends of my hair as Nat flung herself out ahead of the flames.

“I’m fine, Rumlows making a break for it.” Nat pulled herself to her feet as I gave her a once over, she’d be alright. 

“Steve!” I looked up at Fin’s voice, just in time to see Steve catch a grenade with his shield. We watched as Rumlow bombarded the building, I couldn't get eyes on Steve. Fin was already running andI was right behind her. We saw him get blown out of the window, hitting every obstacle on the way down with a heavy thud. If it was anyone else I'd fear the worst. “Steve.” Fin got to him as he rolled onto his elbows, pushing himself up. She helped him to his feet. 

“Sam.” Steve was speaking through gritted teeth, fighting the pain. “He’s in an AFV, heading north.” He leaned on Fin, letting her take some of his weight for a moment. 

“You good?” I picked up the shield from the ground, handing it to him.

“Sure.” He winced, taking the shield. “I think all the bleeding is internal, and I probably didn’t need that kidney anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re fine.” I turned to start jogging north. “Sam, what have you got?” 

“I’ve got four, they're splitting up.”  
  


“I’ve got the two on the left.” Nat sounded like she had them in her sites. 

“We’re on our way.” Fin grabbed my arm, not wanting to lose me in the crowd as we tried to keep up with Steve, we kept him insight but he easily outpaced us. 

“They ditched the gear, it’s a shell game now. One of them has the payload.” I heard the ‘ting’ of metal on metal as he spoke, luckily Steve heard it too and threw the shield in the air before the sticky-bomb detonated. Unfortunately it was enough of a distraction for Rumlow to suckerpunch him in the back, sending him flying. I wasn’t sure what sort of mechanism he’d rigged to his suit but Rumlow wasn’t fucking around. I looked beside me to gauge Fin’s reaction, but she was gone. When I turned around she was leaping onto Rumlow’s back, grabbing him around the neck like a spider monkey as she held on. Steve was still trying to get his legs under him while Fin tried to get into the mechanics of the suit. 

“I'm not here for you, you stupid cunt, I’m here for him.” A jolt of electricity surged up the spine of his armor, sending Fin flying. “There you are, you son of a bitch. I’ve been waiting for this!” He struck Cap across the face with another mechanically driven punch that sent him flying. I got to Fin, pulling her to her feet. 

“That went well.” She wheezed. 

“Did it?” I raised an eyebrow at her. 

“He doesn’t have it, I'm empty.” Sam called over the radio. 

“I got it, payload secure, thanks Sam.” Nat had the bioweapon. Good, now we just had Rumlow to deal with. Fin tried to charge him again, I grabbed her by the arm.

“Cap’s got him preoccupied. Help me get these people out of here.” She looked past me, I could hear the fight but didn’t turn to see it. If he needed help, he’d ask for it. It was our job to give Rumlow less collateral. We started pushing people in whatever direction was the path of least resistance, although Fin staying close to the fight as she worked did not go unnoticed. She did manage to find where the shield had landed and I could see her looking for the opportunity to get it to Steve but he never had the chance to take his eyes off Rumlow. When Steve finally got one of the mechanical gauntlet’s off of Rumlow, Fin ducked between them, tossing the arm into the crowd, rolling away as Cap landed a mean roundhouse into Rumlow’s face that sent him flying. Rumlow got to his knees but didn’t stand up, Fin and I closed ranks to flank him as he took off his mask. 

“Wow.” Fin whistled. “Who would have thought that a building falling on you could improve your looks.” The sarcasm was inescapable. 

“I think I look pretty good, all things considered.” Rumlow smirked, if the limited range of movement left in his face could be classified as such. 

“Who’s your buyer?” Steve was getting impatient, we’d been tracking him for illegal arms dealing, it being Rumlow had just been a bonus incentive. 

“You know, he knew you.” Rumlow’s voice dripped with hate as he avoided the question. “Your pal, your buddy...your Bucky.” 

“What did you say?” Steve grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off the ground by a few inches as he stood over him. Fin stepped up, positioning herself between us and Rumlow ready to intervene if she needed to. She knew better than anyone what that name did to Steve...and me.

“He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it...til they put his brain back in a blender.” I could taste iron in my mouth, realizing too late that my canine teeth had elongated while I'd been clenching my teeth. The taste of blood was an unwelcome distraction but it pulled me back to reality. It didn’t matter what he said, Bucky wasn’t with them. He was safe, or he was a couple months ago when he’d sent me a card from Cairo…

“Steve, ignore him.” Fin whispered, but he didn’t hear her.

“He wanted you to know something, he said to me; ‘Please tell Rogers, when you gotta go, you gotta go.’ And you’re coming with me.” 

Everything that followed happened at once and it felt like it was in slow motion. I heard Rumlow’s words and saw his hand on the switch. I saw Fin lift the shield as she stepped in front of Steve, kicking me back into the crowd with the same momentum. The explosion stopped short of my face before it was thrown into the sky, hitting the south side of the building. Wanda fell to her knees and I absently thought she might be hurt before my brain caught up and put the pieces together. 

My ears were still ringing as I watched the scene from the flat of my back, Steve was still on his feet and looking up at the smoldering building. Wanda was on her knees and Fin had her arms around her shoulders, holding her and telling her it was ok. I rolled onto my side, trying to assess my own damage. Nothing seemed to be broken but the bruising where Fin’s boot made contact was tender as I got to my feet. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok. You saved us, you saved everyone down here. It’s ok.” Fin kept repeating as she looked over Wanda to me, making eye contact and looking from me to Steve in a clear ‘go with him.’ “Come on.” She helped Wanda to get feet and started steering her through the crowd. I watched as they made their way down the street, Natasha catching up to them before I turned my attention to the burning building that Steve was disappearing into. With Fin taking care of Wanda I could worry about this instead...and try not to think about what Rumlow had said about James. 


	2. Blood on my Name

**[Steve - 07:00 May 5th, 2016 - AVENGERS COMPOUND]**

_Blood on my Name - The Brothers Bright_

_‘11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred.’_

We sat on the couch watching the news unfold, Fin hadn’t let go of me since we left Lagos and I couldn’t blame her. The way she had her arms around my waist and leaned on me put pressure on my bruised ribs, but I'd take the pain over being dead any day. I ran a hand through her hair, leaning to kiss the top of her head as the King of Wakanda came on the screen. Elena moved to the edge of her seat, tilting forward to give her undivided attention. 

_‘Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all.’_

Indifference. The word made it seem like we didn’t care what happened to those people, like we hadn’t been trying to clear civilians from the scene. We hadn’t been the one with the bomb, we had been the ones trying to stop the sale of a biological weapon. If we were indifferent, we would have let them go instead of putting our lives on the line. I picked up the remote and turned it off, sitting and watching this wasn’t going to change anything and it sure as hell wasn’t going to fix it. Elena’s head turned in the direction of Wanda’s room before it even registered that I could still hear the news broadcast coming from there. 

“I’ll go.” She offered. I shook my head and unwound Fin from my person. 

“No, it was my call to follow Rumlow to Lagos. I’ll go.” Fin took my hand as I got up. 

“It’s not on you, either.” She squeezed my palm. 

“I know.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her fingertips before letting her go and making my way to the living quarters. Wanda was on the corner of her bed, watching the same news feed i’d just turned off, they were calling her out specifically now. 

_‘What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri -’_ She’d left the remote on the dresser and I picked it up and turned the TV off. I leaned on the doorframe, not wanting to walk into her room until she acknowledged I was there. 

“It’s my fault.” She didn’t look at me when she said it, she kept staring at the blank television.

“That’s not true.” It wasn’t, from what I saw she saved all the civilians on the ground with us. 

“Turn the TV back on. They’re being very specific.” I made my way into the room to have a more private conversation.

“I should have clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it. Rumlow said ‘Bucky’ and...all of the sudden I was a sixteen year old kid again in Brooklyn.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “People died. It’s on me.”

“It’s on both of us.” She proposed the compromise, I wasn't willing to take it. 

“This job, we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn't mean everybody...but if we can find a way to live with that, next time...maybe nobody gets saved.” 

“Vis!” Wanda jumped in her seat as Vision materialized through the wall of her bedroom. “We talked about this.”

“Yes, but the door was open, so I assumed that…” he gestured awkwardly at the door and stopped, seeing the looks on our faces and understanding that he’d assumed incorrectly. “Captain Rogers wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.” He explained. 

“Thank you, We’ll be right down.”

“I’ll…use the door.” Vis turned to leave, pausing to tell us more. “Oh, and apparently he’s brought a guest.” 

“We know who it is?” Knowing Tony it could be anyone.

“The Secretary of State.” Well that couldn’t be good.

  
  


**[Elena - 07:15 May 5th, 2016 - AVENGERS COMPOUND]**

“You alright?” I asked as Fin watched Steve leave the room, I half expected her to follow him. 

“Fine. It was just...close, you know?” She turned back in her seat to face me once Steve was out of sight. “Besides, I feel like I should be asking you that.”

“I’m good. A little bruised from where you kicked me but it beats being burned to death by a bomb vest.” I shrugged. 

“That’s not what I meant.” she whispered. I knew what she meant, I was trying to avoid talking about it. 

“I know. It was just Rumlow trying to fuck with Steve, I’m trying not to think about it.” I admitted. 

“Do you think it’s true? That he remembered...before they erased him again.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure Rumlow was creative enough to make up that part.”

“Excuse me.” Vision leaned came around the corner. “Mr. Stark has arrived, with the Secretary of state.”

“Thanks Vis. We’ll be down shortly.” Fin smiled at him, he nodded and kept walking as she turned to me with a more serious expression. “Secretary Ross?” 

“That can’t be good.” I ran a hand over my face. I hadn't been sleeping well since we got back, the compound wasn't as comfortable as home and wasn’t ready to be diplomatic this morning. 

“I take it you heard?” Steve asked as he came around the corner. 

“Yeah.” Fin took his hand. “Let’s go see what he wants.” 

We made our way to the dining room, everyone taking seats around the large conference table that served double duty in the compound. Secretary Ross didn’t even greet us as we entered, he just stood at the head of the table, waiting for us to be seated. I saw Tony, already seated but not at the table, I hadn’t realized he considered himself that far removed from the Avengers but the choice said a lot, whether he meant to do it or not. The fact that Ross’s personal bodyguard was joining us spoke volumes as well, whatever he was here to tell us he didn’t expect it to go well. I watched Fin pour herself a cup of water from one of the pitchers on the table, sipping it loudly while we waited for him to decide to get started. He shot her a look and opened his mouth. 

“Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass... I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective.” Oh great, he was trying to be relatable. Someone had been attending their public speaking seminars. “The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives... but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some... who would prefer the word vigilantes". I could practically feel Fin’s eyeroll. 

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Nat’s question was flat, emotionless. The tell tale sign that the black widow didn’t like what you were saying. 

“How about ‘dangerous’? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

“I’m not sure what part of us staying to help the wounded and clear debris made us seem unconcerned.” I crossed my arms in front of me, Ross glanced in my direction but didn’t acknowledge that I’d spoken, instead he turned on the screen behind him. News footage started playing in clips, presumably ones he specifically chose to point out our shortcomings.

“New York.” Ross announced in case we couldn’t see it for ourselves. We watched the Chitauri’s leviathan fly through the city, military personnel trying to take down more as the Hulk crashed from building to building. 

“Washington D.C.” The footage changed to three helicarriers hovering over the potomac, the triskelion in the background. We watched cellphone footage of the waves caused by the crash and I heard Fin’s teeth grinding across the table. 

“Sokovia.” The screen showed the city being lifted from the earth, civilians running and screaming. Wanda tensed as we watched, reliving her home’s destruction and her brother’s death while she sat in the fresh guilt of yesterday’s disaster. 

“Lagos.” We didn’t need to see Lagos, the images were still fresh in all our minds, but there it was on the screen so Secretary Ross could rub our noses in it. Wanda turned her head away from the screen as the image of a dead woman came into view, the camera giving us a close up of her face. Fin stood up, turning off the screen as she did. 

“I’m not done, Agent Coulson.” The secretary did not sound amused at her disruption. 

“I am.” She addressed the rest of the table. “What right does he have to tell us we don’t take responsibility for our actions. This is bullshit.” 

“Fin.” Tony tried to say something but she didn’t even turn to look at him. 

“No, it’s bullshit. New York was a disaster, you’re right. No one was prepared to handle it. The world council’s bright idea was to NUKE the city and the Avengers are the bad guys for not letting it happen? You don’t like that, how about this. How about D.C.? Go on, rewind your tape.” She put her hands on her hips and he waited for her to go on. “No one at this table programmed those helicarriers to kill TRILLIONS of people, but they did stop them. Would you prefer they’d let it go? If I remember right the world council was in support of project insight at the time.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is your point Secretary? Other than to make us feel like shit for doing the jobs you can’t seem to handle? Or are you conveniently forgetting that time you destroyed Harlem trying to recreate the super soldier serum using Dr. Banner’s research?” Steve’s eyebrows rose at the information she’d just dropped and Ross’s glare bore into her like he was trying to set her on fire with his mind. Thankfully it wasn’t working.

“You are in NO place to judge me for the things I've done in the service of this country little girl.” Ross smirked, trying to mask his frustration. 

“Ok, that’s enough.” Steve put his hand down on the table. Fin looked at him and sat back down, fuming. 

“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” Ross’s guard handed him a thick ream of paper that had been bound with a plastic cover. Ross sets it in front of Wanda who looked at the cover before passing it to Rhodey. “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.” 

“The Avengers only became a private organization because we couldn’t trust the government agencies that brought us together in the first place.” Fin scoffed, I saw her meet Steve’s eyes as she spoke, trying to gauge his reaction to all of this. 

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place” His tone stayed respectful, but I heard the underlying anger. “I feel we’ve done that.”

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” Steve met the Secretary’s eyes but didn’t respond. “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you can bet there’d be consequences.”

“They aren’t weapons, Secretary. They’re people.” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut anymore, his analogy struck a nerve. Treating living beings like they were tools to be used as the government saw fit, without any consideration to the individuals...it was the reason Coulson had left so much of my abilities out of my file to begin with. He knew I would only be seen as an asset to be used.

“People with power like that cannot go unchecked, Agent Allen. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies?” Rhodey tapped the thick stack of paperwork.

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords. Talk it over.”

“And if we come to a decision you don’t like?” Natasha asked. 

“Then you retire.” Ross said flatly. Fin got up from her chair, walking out of the room. Steve started to follow her but i laid a hand on his arm, it would look like he was storming out if he followed her. It wouldn’t help for Ross to think all of us were short tempered assholes, he already thought that about Fin and she liked it that way. 

**[Fin - 07:47 May 5th, 2016 - AVENGERS COMPOUND]**

Retire! RETIRE MY ASS. You can’t force me to retire if I don’t fucking WORK FOR YOU! I wanted to be screaming that in Secretary Ross’s face, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t going to try to lie to myself about being the bigger, more mature person either. Oh no. I wanted to be in his face, a few rounds with his body guard might even make me feel better about this whole situation. 

Unfortunately, or I guess fortunately for Ross and my more level headed companions, my phone started vibrating in my pocket about the time he’d finished pontificating on the future of the Avengers. I was hoping to get somewhere private before it stopped ringing but by the time I reached the hall I heard the beep that signified it going to voicemail. I made it to the stairwell, one of the few places without cameras, and closed the door behind me. I pulled out my phone and didn’t recognize the number but the area code was from London, which narrowed down the possibilities significantly. I put in my voicemail pin and listened. The voice on the other line was a woman’s, soft and sweet and she introduced herself as Nurse Morrison. She apologized for the hour and asked that I call back at my earliest convenience, explaining that she couldn’t say more over voicemail. 

My heart stopped in my chest and I fumbled for the call back button, cursing my stupid fingers. When the line started ringing I held my breath. 

“Hello?” The same voice picked up. 

“Hello, Nurse Morrison, this is Fin. You just left me a voicemail?” I was trying to keep my voice level but I heard the tremble in my words. 

“Yes, yes. Give me one second.” I heard shuffling as the ambient sound around her lessened, the click of a door closing as she found someplace she could speak freely. I absently wondered if she was hiding in a starwell too. “Ms. Coulson?”

“I’m here. Fin is fine.”

“Fin. I...I shouldn’t be calling, you aren’t on the immediate family list but she left a note with your number and....” She was having trouble finding the words, but I put the pieces together on my own. 

“How?” I swallowed. 

“In her sleep, we found her this morning. She went peacefully.” She sounded genuinely sad and I wondered if Nurse Harrison had been with Peggy’s hospice nurse this whole time. 

“Thank you. For calling, I mean.”

“It was the least I could do.” 

“Thanks.” I hung up the phone and my knees gave out. I sank onto the concrete steps with a thud, all the anger I'd had moments ago suddenly eclipsed by the black hole of sadness forming in my chest. 

**[Elena - 08:49 May 5th, 2016 - AVENGERS COMPOUND]**

We watched Ross go and when it didn’t look like Fin was coming back for a while Steve picked up the accords, opened them to page one and started to read. I started pacing, the building tension in the room making it hard to keep still. Every time I walked past Cap I'd glance at the typed out pages, I only got a few sentences here and there but I knew that no matter what it said, it was going to change everything. 

“Fin’s right. This is bullshit.” Sam stood up, I wasn't surprised that he'd been the one to break the silence. “Matter of fact, tell him to come back and kiss my black ass. Fuck that guy, what does he know.” I saw Steve look up from his reading, but he didn’t say anything. Rhodes got to his feet. 

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.” Rhodes waved a finger in Sam’s face, causing him to cross his arms in frustration. 

“So let’s say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before the LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?” Sam argued. 

“117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you’re just like ‘Nah, that’s cool, we got it’.”

“How long are you going to play both sides?”

“I have an equation.” Vision leaned forward from his seat by Wanda. 

“Oh, this will clear it up.” I couldn’t tell if Sam was being sincere but we all stopped to hear what Vision had to say. 

“In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.” Vision noted. 

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve sounded taken aback.

“I’m saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

“Boom.” Rhodes added, unhelpfully. I shook my head. 

“Correlation does not imply causation.” I looked at Vision, waiting for him to have a counterpoint. 

“Tony.” Nat said in a patronizing voice. He took his hand off his face and looked at her. “You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.”

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind.” Steve looked at Tony, disappointment clear on his features. 

“Boy, you know me so well.” Tony winced as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache.” He walked into the kitchen, picking up a coffee mug and the french press. I followed.

“Tony.” I held out a hand, prepared to offer some headache relief, but he pushed it away.

“That’s what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?” He sat his phone in the basket that held some produce, tapping the screen and pretending like he hadn’t done it on purpose. The image of a smiling young man projected above it and everyone stopped to look, wondering where this was going. “Oh, that’s Charles Spencer, by the way. He’s a great kid. Computer engineering degree. 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor... Guess where, Sokovia.”

I looked around the room and everyone was looking away from the picture now, trying to avoid the guilt. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that this kid died, but it wasn’t fair to blame us for it either. 

“He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” 

“How can you be so cavalier? We aren’t the ones that lifted the city off the ground, we were there to stop…” I caught myself before the name ‘Ultron’ escaped my lips. Shit, no wonder Tony felt responsible for this kid’s death...he sort of was. He made eye contact with me, not blinking as he popped a pill in his mouth, washing it down with coffee before he continued. 

“There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.”

“Accepting limitations and relinquishing control are two different things.” Tony rolled his eyes at my perfectly good point and I wasn't sure if I wished Fin would hurry back to help me argue or glad she wasn’t here to make it an actual fight. 

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.” Steve was the one person in this room that no one could deny carried the guilt of the people we couldn’t save. 

“Who said we’re giving up?”

“We are if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions.” He held up the accords. “This document just shifts the blame.”

“I’m sorry Steve, that...that is dangerously ignorant. This is the United Nations we’re talking about.” Steve shook his head in disbelief as Rhodes spoke. “It’s not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA.”

“No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change.” Steve pointed out. 

“That’s good. That’s why I’m here.” Tony’s voice sounded hopeful, like we were finally seeing his point, but unless I missed something I wasn't sure we were on the same page. “When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”

“Tony. You CHOSE to do that.” Steve emphasized his words like an adult trying to explain something he thought was simple to a particularly stubborn child. “If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”

“If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's a fact. That won't be pretty.”

“You're saying they’ll come for me.” Wanda’s voice didn’t hide her alarm, although she tried to keep it calm.

“We would protect you.” Vision reassured her.

“And yet you want to let those same people dictate our every move?” I looked at Vision. “You said if they came for her, you would protect her. Protect her now. If we sign this, we belong to them. You heard Ross, he compared Thor and Bruce to nukes, that’s all we are to them! Who needs a nuclear deterrent when you have the Avengers on speed dial?”

“Maybe Tony’s right.” Natasha interjected and I was so shocked I thought I swallowed my tongue in surprise. She met my gaze. “If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off…” Shit, She might have a point. At least if we went into this willingly we could negotiate terms. I just didn’t like that we were being given an ultimatum. 

“Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?” Sam leaned forward to look at her around Tony. 

“I'm just... I'm reading the terrain. We have made... some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.” She was speaking calmly, trying to make a rational point. 

“Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?” Tony put his hands on the side of the couch, turning to look at Nat. 

“Oh, I want to take it back now.” She shook her head, raising an eyebrow at his reaction. 

“No, no, no.” He shook a finger at her. “You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed - I win.” I heard a phone vibrate, barely audible over Tony’s boasting. Steve pulled his out, looking at the screen as his expression dropped. 

“I have to go.” He dropped the accords unceremoniously onto the table as I moved to stand beside him, he turned the screen for me to see. It was from Fin. 

‘East stairwell. Come now. It’s Peggy.’


	3. Wayfaring Stranger

**[Fin - 07:00 May 9th, 2016 - LONDON]**

_Wayfaring Stranger - Chaley Rose_

It had been a while since I’d seen Peggy’s kids. Her son Grant was a cop in New York the last I’d heard and while I’d only seen pictures of her late husband, Daniel, their son was a spitting image. Rose also favored her father, although she had Peggy’s nose. I wasn’t sure what she did for a living and when she stepped down from the pulpit and I realized I hadn't heard a word either of them had said. I must have reacted to my realization in some way because Steve squeezed my hand. I squeezed back. 

We hadn’t talked much in the last few days, we’d flown out as soon as we could and I’d been helping with funeral preparations where I was able. He’d tried to start a conversation about the accords a few times but I'd been too distracted to really engage. I could only handle one crisis at a time and keeping myself together for the funeral was taking up most of my concentration. It wasn’t as hard as it had been with Coulson, his death was unexpected and nothing was prepared. Peggy had planned everything for us and it was just following her instructions, no one could argue that Aunt Peggy didn’t get her way, even in death. 

I felt Steve shift when Sam elbowed him, nodding to the podium where Sharon now stood. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows in a clear ‘care to explain’ expression. I would, later. I hadn’t meant to keep Sharon’s relation to Peggy secret but Sharon herself played it close to the vest. I honestly assumed she would have told him herself by now. 

“Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD... but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy.” Sharon kept looking in our direction but I couldn’t tell for sure who she was looking at, I assumed it wasn’t me. “She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related.” I closed my eyes in an effort not to roll them. That would be inappropriate during a eulogy, even if the eulogy left out the part where her birth name wasn’t actually Carter. I couldn’t really say anything, My legal name wasn’t Coulson, but I never claimed to hide the fact that we were related. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, Peggy wouldn’t want me to hold onto petty things, she’d want me to get along with Sharon, she always had. Maybe it was past time to let bygones be bygones. 

“I asked her once, how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move... it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say, ‘No, you move’." I smiled. Peggy had a few speeches that Sharon and I were frequently lectured on but this one was particularly apt in the moment. I couldn’t help but think of the accords and I wondered how Sharon felt about them. I also remembered being a teenager and arguing with Sharon over who got to sit where while we had tea with Peggy. I’d beaten her to the table and she asked me to leave her usual seat, she was not amused when I looked her in the eye and said ‘no. you move.’

When the speeches were done everyone started to file out, I put it off for as long as I could, not wanting to leave Steve, but he had to help carry her. I stood on my toes, reaching up to kiss his cheek. He turned to give me a sad smile and hug my shoulders to him. 

“Will you be alright on your own? Sam or Elena can stay back if you want.” I offered, volunteering our friends. I would have stayed myself but Peggy had very specific instructions about where I should be and what I would be singing as they lowered her into the earth, I couldn’t let her down. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you at the hotel, I’m not sure how long I’ll stick around afterwards.” He kissed my forehead. 

“Ok.” I gave him one last squeeze around the waist before meeting Sam and Elena out front. 

  
  


**[Steve - 08:33 May 9th, 2016 - LONDON]**

I waited in the sanctuary as the last of the family trickled out of the cathedral, the handful that weren’t going to make it to the gravesite but wanted to say their goodbyes to Peggy’s family. I tried to stay out of the way. As much as I felt like I needed to be here, so much of what I was seeing proved that she’d had a beautiful life, and I'd only been a fraction of it. When I heard footsteps approaching me from behind I thought Elena or Fin had forgotten something, I was surprised to see Natasha, I thought for sure she’d be at the UN by now. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were playing diplomat today.” My words came out hollow.

“I might not have known Peggy personally, but I know a lot of people that she meant a lot to. I wanted to check on them.” She explained it as though it were the simplest explanation. “I saw Fin outside, She told me I could find you here.” I looked from Nat to the portrait of Peggy, the young version of her that I knew looking at me. 

“When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her.” I hadn’t said it out loud before but having Peggy, even though it wasn’t the way I’d hoped, helped me get the closure I needed to accept a life where I was now instead of always looking behind me. 

“She had you back, too.” Nat smiled. I nodded my agreement before changing the subject. 

“Who else signed?” I hated to ruin the moment, but I had to know. 

“Tony, Rhodey, Vision.” She exhaled, she almost sounded disappointed. 

“Clint?” I’d always considered Barton to have a level head on his shoulders, I was curious where he stood on the situation. 

“He says he’s retired.” I couldn’t help but catch the grin on her face. 

“Wanda?” I knew she didn’t want to, but when we talked before I left it seemed like Tony and Vision had her pretty well convinced it was sign or be taken to the raft with all the other enhanced that the government couldn’t control. 

“TBD.” she shrugged. “I’m off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords...There’s plenty of room on the jet.”

I knew what she was doing, she was giving me the chance to take the easy way out. I’m sure there was a seat for Fin, Elena, and Sam too. I sighed, shaking my head.

“Just because it’s the path of least resistance doesn't mean it’s the wrong path.” She stepped closer. “Staying together is more important than how we stay together.” I can’t decide if she’s trying to convince me or herself. 

“What are we giving up to do it?” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, Nat. I can’t sign it.”

“I know.” She shrugged. 

“Then what are you doing here?” 

“I didn’t want you to be alone.” She pulled me in for a hug.

“I’m not.” I returned the hug and let her go. “And I trust you to do what’s best for you Nat, I just hope you trust me to do the same.” Nat gave me a quick pat on the arm before she left and I wondered if everyone had gotten the offer for a last minute ride to the signing. 

The rest of the ceremony was a blur, eventually one of the other pallbearers came to get me and we rode together to the cemetery. It was nice, well landscaped with lots of statues. When we got there someone helped us unload the casket as we lifted it onto our shoulders and I tried not to make eye contact with anyone I knew as we walked up the hill, I didn’t think I’d be able to hold it together if I did. I’d already fallen apart as we brought her into the church when I saw my friends waiting for me. Instead, I kept my eyes straight ahead and downcast, watching where I was walking but not seeing any faces as I followed the sound of Fin’s voice. We were seated and I waited quietly with my hands folded in my lap. I didn’t even realize that the ceremony had ended until I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

“Kate?” I looked up, startled. “I mean, Sharon. Sorry, old habits.”

“It’s ok, that one is kind of on me.” She turned the empty folding chair in front of me to face my direction before she took a seat. “How are you holding up?” 

“I’ll be alright, I think.” I leaned back in my chair. “It’s just...i thought it might be easier...losing her the second time. I was wrong.” She didn’t say anything for a while as we watched people move in the crowd, hugging and shaking hands as they cried.

“Do you want to get out of here?” The question was unexpected and she blushed when I looked up at her. “I’m sorry, I just meant, it’s a lot. A lot of people you don’t know and you’re just over here by yourself.”

“I’m good.” I reassured her. “I appreciate the thought.”

“To be perfectly honest, it was selfish on my part.” She admitted. I looked at her quizzically. “I was looking for an escape of my own. Talking in front of everyone about Aunt Peggy is one thing, but I don’t think I can take one more ‘i’m sorry for your loss’ handshake with any semblance of sincerity.” 

“Why not go?” No one was keeping her here. 

“I didn’t want to go alone, it’s silly, I know but…” She let the sentence trail off as I scanned the crowd for familiar faces and spotted Fin and Elena talking to Peggy’s kids, a few others waiting in line to offer their condolences. I got to my feet and found my phone in my jacket, pulling it out to text Sam that I was leaving and be sure he would see Fin and Elena safely back to the hotel. He saw me above the crowd and gave me an ‘ok’ and a nod. I looked down where Sharon was still sitting. 

“Are you coming?”

The hotel was only a few blocks away, everyone who’d come for the funeral was being put up there because of the convenience and the weather was pleasant enough to walk. I’d been fine with the silence but Sharon had been talking the whole way, telling me stories about her and Peggy. It was nice, learning things about Peggy that I hadn't known before, she had so rarely talked about herself when I’d visited, always asking about me. 

“My mom tried to talk me out of enlisting, but um, not Aunt Peggy.” She grinned. “She bought me my first thigh holster.” 

“Very practical.” My mind wandered to the memory of Fin standing in front of me wearing nothing but black lace panties and a matching garter holster. 

“And stylish.” Sharon’s voice brought me back to the moment, I swallowed and tried to keep my mind on the conversation at hand. 

“CIA has you stationed over here now?” It wasn’t the smoothest subject change, but her job was the only thing I really knew about Sharon. She’d been the Avenger’s unofficial liaison to higher government agencies since SHIELD fell and her transfer to Europe had been a catalyst in the decision to put Peggy in Hospice here instead of D.C. 

“In Berlin, Joint Terrorism task Force.” She elaborated. 

“Right, right. Sounds fun.” I didn’t know what else to say. 

“I know, right?” She smiled. I smiled back, deciding I was out of small talk and mustering the courage to ask the one thing that had been on my mind since we’d left the cemetery. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you.” I put on my most persuasive face, hoping she’d actually tell me the truth. “When you were spying on me from across the hall…”

“You mean when i was doing my job.” She corrected me. 

“Did Peggy know?” She shifted her stance, her face more serious than it had been the entire conversation. 

“She kept so many secrets, I didn’t want her to have one from you.” The elevator arrived, the door opening behind her. “Thanks for walking me back.”

“Sure.” She turned to get on the elevator.

“Steve.” Sam ran up to us, Fin and Elena on his heels, he looked serious. “There’s something you gotta see.” 

  
  


**[Elena - 09:15 May 9th, 2016 - LONDON]**

We sat on the couch in the hotels’ small suite, Fin and I on the couch while Steve and Sam stood behind us. Steve kept his hands on Fin’s shoulders as she texted Natasha but he didn’t take his eyes off the television. 

_‘...bomb, hidden in a news van…’_

We watched as they tried to put out the fires, bodies being pulled out of the rubble one by one...some covered in sheets, others covered in blood. I looked for faces I knew in the wreckage, every person I didn't recognize filled me with the fear that one of the covered faces might be someone I knew. 

“Nat’s ok. She got out.” Fin announced over the news cast, the tightness in my chest let go the tiniest bit at the good news, but Nat wasn’t the only person I knew in there. 

“Who’s coordinating?” Sharon had come with us to Fin and Steve’s room and was pacing on the phone, trying to use her contacts to get her answers that the news didn’t have. 

_‘...ripped through the UN building in Vienna. More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda's King T'Chaka.’_

I felt Fin reach over and squeeze my hand. 

_‘Officials have released a video of a suspect who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent, linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations.’_

James. I scrutinized the blurry image on the tv. I wasn't him. It couldn’t be. Had they gotten a hold of him again? I looked up at Steve, the muscles in his jaw twitching. I wanted to scream.

“I have to go to work.” Sharon said apologetically. 

“Yeah.” Fin whispered. “Us too.”

“What about the accords?” She said it in a tone that told me she didn’t approve of them, but she still worked for the government that was tasked with enforcing them. 

“As far as I can tell, they’re literally up in smoke.” Fin gestured to the television. “If they really don’t want our help, I’ll happily apologize after we figure out what the hell is going on.” Sharon nodded. 

“You need a ride?” 

**[Fin - 10:02 May 9th, 2016 - VIENNA]**

I tried to tell Sam to take his hat off, he and Steve both wearing ball caps and sunglasses in the cafe looked incredibly suspicious, but neither of them listened to me. Eventually Steve stepped out to call Nat, leaving Elena and I sitting at the counter sipping espressos and picking at the cherry tart between us. Sam sat at the adjacent corner, eating and pretending not to know us while we waited for Sharon to try and get us a lead. I would normally be against potentially owing her a favor, but I had grown a lot as a person since Peggy’s passing. 

“She tell you to stay out of it?” Sam asked as Steve walked up to us, he didn’t answer which was answer enough. “She might have a point.”

“He’d do it for me.” Steve said flatly. 

“In 1945 maybe. I just want to make sure we considered all our options. The people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me.” Sam looked worried, I couldn’t blame him. The incident at the triskelion was one thing, but this was blatantly going against the government to do what we thought was the right thing. They weren’t going to be happy about it. 

“You don’t have to come.” I whispered from behind my cup before finishing my drink. Sharon walked up beside us before he had the chance to answer. 

“Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of its noise. Except for this.” She laid a file on the counter, Elena looked at it before sliding it toward me and I passed it along to Steve.”My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now... so that's all the head start you're gonna get.”

“Thank you.” Steve sounds mildly relieved to have a lead, I can’t help but glance at Elena. If she knows where Bucky is, she’s going to have to come clean. If she didn’t...well I hoped Sharon’s lead got us close enough for her to sniff him out. 

“You're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight.” Sharon added before leaving.


	4. Whose side are you on

**[Bucky - 09:34 May 10th, 2016 - BUCHAREST]**

_ I’m a wanted man - Royal Deluxe _

I’d been reading about things that help Alzheimer's patients with memory loss, I’d been going alphabetically to easily keep track and I’d reached ‘P’ earlier in the week. The man selling plums out of the small wooden stand greeted me with a smile, I came to him enough that he probably recognized my face but he never asked my name, it was one of the reasons I came back. I had nothing against friendly people, per say, but I really only left my apartment when I needed something. That something was never human interaction, not primarily. 

I tried to ignore the sirens on the street behind me as they grew louder, I knew they had nothing to do with me but I still had to grit my teeth against the urge to run. Not long after coming here I’d remembered something, from before. My friend, this little guy named Steve, kept getting his ass beat by bigger guys. When I asked him why he didn’t just run away he said; ‘you start running they’ll never let you stop.’ He was right. 

I felt eyes on me from across the street, one of the paper vendors was watching me. I looked away, hoping I’d just made awkward eye contact, but when I turned back he was still staring. I started to cross the street toward the kiosk and the man bolted out of the back, I wasn't sure what I'd done to scare him but I lost him in the crowd. When I made it to the stall I picked up the paper he’d been holding and saw my face under the headline: ‘Winter Soldier wanted for bombing in Vienna’. Shit. I had to get back to my apartment, if the man recognized me and went somewhere to call they would know I'm in the area. It wouldn’t take long for them to find me. 

I ran back to my building, taking the stairs two at a time until I reached my landing. I froze when I saw my door was ajar and heard a voice from inside. I hadn’t seen any police in the building, they had no way of knowing which apartment was mine. I nudged the door with my boot, careful to only open it enough to get inside. A man in a dark blue uniform stood with his back to me, I watched as he took one of my notebooks off the top of my fridge without bothering to put down the shield. I could hear boots in the stairwell, I wouldn’t be able to get out without him seeing me so i stopped hiding

“Understood.” He answered someone that i couldn’t hear as I moved into the middle of the room, one step closer to where my bag was stowed. He caught me in his peripheral vision and turned to face me, looking me over. “Do you know me?” It was a complicated question, although it didn’t seem to be on the surface. I knew who he was, and I knew we’d been friends...a lifetime ago. But that didn’t mean I knew him any more than he knew me. 

“You’re Steve.” I answered. “I read about you in a museum.”

“I know you’re nervous, and you have plenty of reasons to be.” he sat the notebook on the counter. “But you’re lying.” If he could tell I was lying, I hoped he could tell when I was being honest too. 

“I wasn’t in Vienna. I don’t do that anymore.” He didn’t call me a liar. 

“Well, the people who think you did are coming here now, and they’re not planning on taking you alive.” 

“That’s smart.” I nodded. “Good strategy.” I could hear the heavy boots getting closer on the stairs, more were on the roof. The longer we stayed here the fewer options we had to get out.

“This doesn’t have to end in a fight, Buck.” I put my bag of plums on the shelf and started taking off my gloves. 

“It always ends in a fight.” I sighed. I didn’t want to fight, but I didn’t want to die either. 

“You pulled me from the river. Why?” He asked the question before he lost the chance. 

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. 

“Yes, you do.”

Flash grenades crashed through my window, Steve knocked the first one out of the room and I kicked the second to him. He smothered it under his shield as it detonated and the police began ramming the door. I flipped the mattress up in time to block a third grenade and hear a man outside yelling for them to shoot my door. I threw the dining room table hard enough for it to wedge between the walls of the entry and create a barricade. Men came through my window, repelling from the roof above. I slammed one into the wall, jerking him onto his back by his security cable as Steve literally pulled the rug out from under his friends. Bullet tore through my ceiling and I was glad no one lived upstairs. The backdoor flew open, Steve grabbed the cop’s rifle and pushed it away as I kicked the man back out onto the roof. He grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt as I tried to move past him.

“Buck, STOP! You’re gonna kill someone!” I twisted to face him, pushing him off balance and onto his back before punching through the wooden floor beside his head. 

“I’m not gonna kill anyone.” My fingers wrapped around the strap of my backpack, I yanked it out of the floor and threw it onto the adjacent roof. Another officer swung in through the window, guns blazing. I threw my arm up to block the gunfire as a second joined him. Steve got to his feet and covered us with his shield, I pushed him out the window at the second man, knocking them both down before slamming the first guy into my shelf. One of the guys that had previously been on the floor tried to get up and attack, I swung a cinder block from what used to be a shelf at him and sent him flying into the bathroom. 

Shotgun blasts shattered the hinges on my door, I waited for a beat for the men to close ranks before putting my fist through the wall. My fist made contact with someone’s helmet before shoving the door into the hall. It took out a couple of men but there were more on the stairs. They ran at me and i disabled them, one by one, leaving them all alive but effectively incapacitated. When another man dropped through the skylight I grabbed his rifle, flinging him into the sall before picking up the discarded battering ram. I knocked a few more officers off their feet before jumping onto the unconscious man hanging from the open skylight. I landed across the stairwell taking them by surprise, but it didn’t stop them from ganging up on me. I didn’t realize Steve had caught up until he caught the man I threw over the railing. 

“Come on man.” He shook his head before throwing the guy into the wall with enough force to knock him out. Hypocrite. I tore the metal railing from the corner and jumped, it slowed my fall enough for me to leap onto the landing a few stories down, behind most of the officers. I took out the two i’d landed near, Steve’s shield took out a third. Damn it, I’m trying to outrun you too asshole! I jumped over the railing, not worrying about anything slowing my momentum. I needed to put distance between me and them, fast. I counted as I fell, throwing my arm out to catch myself on a floor that was still high enough for me to make the jump to the other building, the railing groaned under my weight and bent, but held. I pulled myself over and kicked open the door, breaking into a run without looking to see if there was anyone behind me. 

I cleared the street below, the landing wasn’t pretty but it was functional. I rolled to my feet, grabbed the bag and kept running. I saw the shadow before I heard anyone approaching, I tried to duck but it was too late, they hit me square in the shoulders sending me pitching forward. I caught myself and scrambled to get my feet under me as I looked at what I was up against. 

It wasn’t a cop or Steve, or any of Steve’s friends...at least not any I’d seen. Was he friends with grown ass men wearing full body cat costumes? Fuck if i knew, he did know that bird guy. I stood waiting for the cat guy to attack me, he crouched into a fighting stance and flexed his hands causing claws to extend on the tip of each finger. 

What. The. Fuck.

  
  


**[Elena - 09:42 May 10th, 2016 - BUCHAREST]**

I watched from the ground as James leaped from one building to the other. Sharon’s intel had been good, I’d known he was leaving Cairo and heading for Bucharest but i wasn’t sure where he’d ended up, she narrowed it down to the building and floor. I’d tried to argue with Steve about going in, he knew if I went that Fin would be right there with us and he couldn’t be sure Bucky wouldn’t hurt us. I knew...hoped he wouldn't hurt me but I didn't have time to explain that to him, so instead we watched the street while Sam watched the sky. 

“Sam, southwest rooftop.” Cap’s voice was frantic over the comms. 

“Who’s the other guy?” Sam asked. 

“I’m about to find out.” I heard Fin hold her breath when Steve jumped, he landed safely on the other side and she exhaled.

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes at me when she saw me looking. Over comms she was more serious. “You want us to come up?” Before we got an answer the sound of helicopter blades buffeted the air, as it came around the buildings and towards us it started shooting. 

“Sam.” Steve didn’t have to say more. 

“Got him.” He flew at the chopper, pulling his legs forward at the last minute to kick it’s tail and sending it spiraling before diving down to land on the street with us. “Some guy dressed like a freaking cat.” He explained without us asking. He looked genuinely perplexed. 

“Can you get us up there?” I knew he could, it was a matter of would. 

“Don’t, we’re coming to you. They just went over the south wall.” We ran in that direction in time to see Steve drop to the sidewalk and roll to his feet. Bucky was a few steps ahead and taking fire from the helicopter as he jumped into the tunnels below. Cars honked as he landed in front of them, a figure in all black hot on his heels as Steve tried to keep up with them both. 

“Go! Don’t lose them.” I yelled at Sam before grabbing Fin. “Come on!”

Once she realized we were running I didn't have to pull her, she kept pace with me. I listened to the sounds below us, cars screeching their tires, drivers yelling. The sirens were starting to catch up to them too, and while I couldn't see what was happening below us, I could hear it and that was enough to follow. 

“Sam, I can’t shake this guy.” 

“I’m right behind you.” Sam reassured him. 

“We’re at the end of the tunnel, we can cut Barnes off.” Fin said helpfully, she was right and I could see the railing ahead. Unfortunately. I could also see lots and lots of police. 

“Cap, you need to get him and find another way out. There’s no getting out this way.” 

“Well, good news bad news. Good news, we’re no longer going that way.”

“Bad news?” Sam asked as he ducked beloe the underpass now that he had an opening. 

“Use your imagination.” He sounded pissed. Fin and I exchanged looks, this was not good. I changed direction, still using the sounds of chaos to guide me, cringing with every scrape of metal on metal. I had to keep Fin from jumping to the level below when James and the man wearing black rolled into view. Steve appeared a second later, followed by a rolling SUV that would have probably crushed her if i hadn’t heard it coming. 

“Stay put.” Cap ordered as he got to his feet, the streets clogged with emergency personnel. 

“We can help.” Fin argued. 

“Not if you get arrested. Call Nat or Sharon, have them bring you to wherever they are taking us.”

“Got it.” I grabbed Fin by the arm, dragging her away from the scene as the helicopter started to circle. “Come on, we have to go before we don’t have that chance.” She nodded and we started walking as casually as possible. 

  
  


**[Steve - 15:49 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

I wished that Sam hadn’t been caught up in this mess, but I was glad that Elena and Fin weren’t in cuffs with us. I was still having trouble processing that the man who’d been trying to Kill Bucky was Prince...well, now King T’Challa. I understood why, his father was killed in Vienna and Bucky was being blamed for it, what I couldn’t wrap my head around was how he’d gone about it. I could have expected him to hire someone to do it, send mercenaries, hell even have Bucky captured and brought to him for punishment...but the cat suit...I never would have guessed that. Judging by the surprise on everyone’s faces and the tone in Rhodey’s voice when he said ‘your highness’ no one else saw it coming either, which made me feel marginally better about it. 

“So, you like cats?” Apparently Sam was struggling with the idea as well, but I didn’t think prison transport was the right time to discuss it. 

“Sam.” 

“What?” Sam sounded taken aback. “Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don’t wanna know more?” He had a point. 

“Your suit. It’s Vibranium?”

“The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?” He had a point, we were going into this blind. If the UN decided that Wakanda deserved the right to punish Bucky for the bombing, there wasn’t much I could do about it from behind bars. 

The facility was bleak, they unloaded the module holding Bucky with a forklift which seemed excessive. Although, I was relieved they’d thought me cooperative enough not to give me the same treatment. I walked freely to the man in grey who greeted us, Sharon stood beside him. 

“What’s going to happen to him?” I asked. 

“Same thing that ought to happen to you, Psychological evaluation and extradition.” The man answered confidently. Sharon looked down, almost apologetically. 

“This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander.”

“What about a lawyer?” 

“Lawyer, that’s funny. See their weapons are placed in lockup. Oh, we’ll write you a receipt.” He reassured us as we watched our gear being carried in my a few faceless suits.

“I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that.” Sam followed the men with our gear, I waited for Deputy Ross to lead the way, sparing a last glance at Bucky before they closed the doors between us. We were escorted across a glass bridge that spanned the river, Ross talking the whole way.

“You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell. Now, do me a favor, stay in it?”

“I don’t intend on going anywhere.” T’Challa assured him. I believed him. 

“For the record,” Natasha walked up, stepping in line beside us. “This is what making it worse looks like.”

“He’s alive.” it was the only argument I had, we both knew if the authorities had gotten there first, he wouldn’t be. When we reached the aforementioned office Elena and Fin sat at the table in their civis, I wasn’t sure if their gear had been confiscated or if they’d changed before coming but, either way I was glad to see them. 

“No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup.” Tony stood at the head of the table talking into his phone.

“Try not to break anything while we fix this.” Natasha led us into the room but went her own direction.

“Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir.”

“‘Consequences'?” I asked. 

“Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something.”

“I’m not getting that shield back, am i.” I raised an eyebrow, it wasn’t really a question. 

“Technically it’s the government’s property.” Nat announced in an unexpectedly jovial tone given the circumstances. “Wings too.” 

“That’s cold.” Sam shook his head disapprovingly. 

“Warmer than jail.” Tony had a point. They walked into another office where T’Challa’s people were waiting, closing the door behind them. 

“Guess we aren’t invited to that room.” Sam stepped into the glass walled office where Elena and Fin were waiting. “Ladies.” he smiled as he took a seat.

“Convicts.” Fin greeted us with a smile. I sat in the chair beside her. 

“Technically we haven’t been convicted.” I teased, she laughed.

“This is a black ops sight, you might not be convicted, they might just make you disappear.” She looked around at the spooks wandering from office to office, our guard no doubt. 

“We’re that fucked, huh?” Sam crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

“Not yet.” It was Elena who’d spoken, her voice distant. When I looked at her I realized she wasn’t paying attention to us, she was watching T’Challa.

  
  


**[Elena - 17:00 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

We walked into the room, nodding at the two dora milaje that had come to sit with T’Challa. They stepped away from him as he rose to greet us but they stayed within striking reach, any friendships were forgotten in this place. 

“Your highness.” I greeted him, in Wakanda he laughed when I used his formal title but here he only bowed his head in acknowledgement as he responded. 

“Elena. I am glad to see you well.” He looked at Fin. “And you, Finlay.”

“I was sorry to hear about your father, he was a good man.” Fin bowed her head, not looking him in the eye as she spoke. “Neither of you should have had to be involved, and I’m sorry for that.” I hadn’t expected that second part, apologising for Lagos hadn’t been part of the plan when we decided to come here. 

“You are right. He should have been at home, not dealing with the mess left behind by careless vigilanties.” His tone stayed calm and diplomatic, but his words spoke volumes. 

“What happened in Lagos was a tragic accident, but it would have been worse. I would think of all people, you might understand the benefits of working in the shadows.” Her eyes moved to the screen mounted on the wall, the black panther chasing James down the street. T’Challa exhaled. 

“Sometimes things need to be taken care of, and the world will not always see the threat until it is too late.” He turned to the live feed that monitored the containment cells below. “That is why I did not wait for permission to hunt the man that killed my father.”

“We don’t know that he did.” I whispered, his gaze turned to me, the mask of diplomacy starting to crack. “We have evidence that he was in Bucharest.”

“We also have a picture of his face in Vienna.” His voice was still low but the emotion bled through. “It is not so hard to think that the snake found his way back into his hole before we got there. And how do I know that your friend didn’t help him?” He gestured to Steve, talking to Tony in the other conference room. 

“Steve Rogers didn’t bomb the UN.” There was a sentence I never thought I’d need to say out loud. 

“He wasn’t here to sign the accords, how did he get to Bucharest so quickly!?” T’Challa was grasping at straws, anything to deepen the conspiracy between James and the man who’s been protecting him. 

“He was in London, with me.” Fin stepped toward him as she spoke and the dora milaje tensed. “We were attending my Aunt’s funeral...I can probably get you a service program if you don’t believe me.” She added, his shoulders relaxed and his guards stepped back.

“I’m sorry.” He ran a hand over his tired face as he sat back down. “It seems it’s been a trying few days for all of us.”

“It has.” My eyes kept going to the live feed. Please let this work. “That’s why I need a favor from you.” He looked up at me suspiciously before leaning back in his chair.

“I do not wish to press charges against your friends.” He nodded to Steve and Sam. “But they did not break my laws, they broke yours.”

“I know, it’s not them I want.”

“Barnes.” He crossed his arms. “Elena, I cannot let the man who murdered my father walk free. Not even for you.”

“What if he’s innocent?” I tried to keep my voice calm but it was hard to hide the desperation.

“Can you prove it.”

“Not yet.” I admitted. T’Challa stood, walking to the door and opening it for us.

“Then I will be taking him with me to pay for his crimes. If you can prove his innocence before then, I will consider letting him live.” We stepped into the hall and he started to close the door, stopping to say one last thing before shutting us out for good. “But if you interfere, you will become my enemy as well. I do not wish for that, Neglosi.”

  
  


**[Steve - 17:01 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

_ Whose side are you on - Tommee Profitt feat. Ruelle _

I was watching them hook Bucky’s box into some sort of air system, Fin and Elena had gone to try and talk some reason into T’Challa but I was pretty sure it was too late for that. When I heard the door open I assumed it was Sam, back from his failed attempt to get Natasha to get his wings back, but it was Tony who spoke. 

“Hey, you wanna see something cool? I pulled something from dad’s archives, it felt timely.” I wasn’t sure where this was going but Tony had on his ‘talk to the press’ face. I took a seat as he opened the thin black box, laying two fountain pens on the table between us. “FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most.” Was he really trying to use World War two against me? God, I hadn’t realized he was this desperate for us to sign. 

“Some would say it brought our country closer to war.” I shook my head in disbelief at his attempt to relate to me. 

“See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to... What do you call it?” He sat at the table across from me. “That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?” He had his hand over his mouth, his face twitching a little as he decided which expression he should be using to garner sympathy. I’d noticed the hesitation before he rebounded my initial comment and it made me wonder if he had someone in his ear. Tony wasn’t known for thoughtful olive branches…

“Is Pepper here?” I didn’t see her.” Everything he was saying sounded more like her than him. He faltered at the question making me think I was on the right track. 

“We’re kinda...well, not kinda…” He stuttered, my brain ran through the reasons she wouldn’t be here. 

“Pregnant?” It was a shot in the dark but it would explain why he’d been so...un-Tony-like lately. It even made his stance on the accords make more sense, less responsibility on his shoulders. 

“No.” He exhaled with relief. “Definitely not. We’re taking a break...It's nobody's fault.” he shrugged. I wouldn’t have mentioned her if i had known, just another example of this one sided relationship. A friend would have told me that he and his girl were on a break...I’d told him about Fin. It didn’t make me feel less like an asshole. 

“I’m so sorry, Tony. I didn’t know.” Despite any disagreements we might have between us, I knew he loved Pepper.

“A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault. And then, and then, and then, I never stopped. Because the truth is I don't want to stop. I don't wanna lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference.” It made more sense now, the accords were Tony’s way to keep his Avenger project in check without him. He got to his feet, nervously pacing in the small glass conference room. “In her defense, I'm a handful. Yet...Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom always made it work.”

“You know, I'm glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single.” Tony so rarely talked about him, but I remembered Howard, he was a hard man to forget. 

“Oh, really? You two knew each other? He never mentioned that. Maybe only a thousand times.” I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t even think Howard liked me that much. “God, I hated you.” I knew that, from the day I met Tony he never hid his contempt for me. I remembered being in the lab with Banner, trying to help...be part of the team.

_ ‘Everything special about you came out of a bottle.’  _ That’s what he’d said, that’s what he thought of me...I thought we’d grown past that.

“I don't mean to make things difficult.” I was true, I didn't want things to be difficult for any of them...Bucky included. 

“I know, because you’re a very polite person.” I couldn’t tell if it was typical Tony sarcasm or his genuine attempt at a compliment, but I needed him to understand my side of this.

“If I see a situation pointed south... I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could.” 

“No, you don’t.” He called me out. I smiled thinly, he might have a point. 

“No, I don’t...sometimes-” I tried to say more but he cut me off. 

“Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth. But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last 24 hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-center... instead of a Wakandan prison.” I picked up one of the pens and stood, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that the price of Bucky’s life was a signature...it made it sound so simple. Sign the paper, get him the help he needs. I looked through the glass at my friends; Sam, Elena, Fin. If I signed, Sam would have to sign, he’d help take Bucky in. The girls could probably get out of it, but I didn’t think they would. They wouldn’t like it, but if Fin’s options were to stay on the team or live a civilian life, I knew which one she was going to choose. It wasn’t fair. 

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, but there would have to be safeguards.” I offered a compromise, I needed to know that if we all signed we weren’t going to be taken advantage of, and that if we wanted out we would have that option. Tony nearly tripped over himself with excitement. 

“Sure. once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended.” He sat down, ready to get to business. “I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated.”

“Wanda?” She hadn’t been with us in this mess, she hadn’t done anything but decide not to sign. “What about Wanda?”

“She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company.” He explained it like it was the most rational choice he could have made. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. 

“Oh God, Tony! Every time!” I couldn’t hide it anymore, his blatant disregard for anyone else’s right to make their own choices. “Every time I think you see things the right way…”

“What? It's 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people.” 

“Protection?” God, I couldn’t believe him right now. Who was he protecting? “Is that how you see this? This is protection? It’s internment, Tony.”

“She’s not a US citizen.” He argued. 

“Oh, come on, Tony.” We both know that wasn’t her fault, she tried but they refused to grant citizenship to an enhanced. 

“They don’t grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!” 

“She’s a KID!” I yelled. He was lucky Elena wasn't here, if she heard him dehumanizing Wanda like that...well Elena might be level headed enough not to touch him but Fin might find herself in a cell beside Bucky. 

“GIVE ME A BREAK!” I’m doing what has to be done...to stave off something worse.” I’d heard that debate from him before, if it hadn't worked then and it wouldn’t work now. 

“You keep telling yourself that.” I laid the pen on the desk. “Hate to break up the set.”


	5. If G-d don’t follow me

**[Fin - 17:37 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

We hadn’t been able to hear the entire conversation that Tony and Steve were having, but we’d gotten enough context from visual clues. The pens were a dead give away as to what Tony was after and Steve’s disappointed and angry body language pretty much summed up my feelings on the subject. When Steve stormed out I expected him to come to us but he’d walked into the adjacent office where Sam had been waiting for them to finish. He didn’t seem to be talking, just pacing like a caged animal as the muscles in his jaw twitched. 

Elena nudged me with her elbow, a silent ‘follow me’ as we walked in that direction. We passed Tony in front of the main control room, he had access that we didn’t, all because we weren’t willing to sign over our free will. I read the accords on the plane to Vienna and even if I had been moved by Secretary Ross’s guilt trip, I wouldn’t have signed it, there were too many grey areas that could be exploited. 

“Elena.” Tony nodded to her as we passed. 

“Tony.” She returned the gesture.

“Fin.” He didn’t look me in the eye when he said it and I waited. until he was shoulder to shoulder with me before I replied with a smile and a polite tilt of my head. 

“Dick.” 

I didn’t look back. We made it to the room in time to watch them interviewing Bucky, we could see the interrogator… I mean psychologist, enter the room with him. We didn’t have sound, an amenity that our non-accord-signing cell...I mean office, didn’t come with. I stood with Elena and Steve, holding both their hands as we watched, trying to read the faces of the people in ops. I barely registered Sharon coming in until she spoke. 

“The receipt for your gear.” I turned to see her hand Sam a piece of paper, Steve and Elena didn’t take their eyes off the screen. 

“Bird costume? Come on.” Sam read the paper, Sharon looked mildly annoyed. 

“I didn’t write it.” She looked around, making sure no one saw her push the button that put Bucky on the screen in our room. 

“I’m not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?” I felt Steve and Elena flinch when the interviewer's voice flooded the room and for the first time in my life I had the overwhelming urge to hug Sharon Carter. I mouthed ‘Thank you’ in her direction and she nodded. I felt sort of stupid that we hadn’t tried all those buttons, but we’d been on thin ice already. For all we knew pushing the wrong one would set off alarms telling everyone we were poking where we didn’t belong. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, James.”

“My name is Bucky.” He answered, begrudgingly and I got the feeling that this was going to be a slow interview. I let go of my friends, leaving them to watch as I found my bag. The upside of coming into the CIA willingly, instead of one prisoner transport, is that they are less through in their search. Yes they’d taken my weapons, but they let me keep the copy of the accords I’d been reading. 

“Hey.” I whispered to get Sharon’s attention as I stood across from her at the table. She looked at the document in my hands. 

“I’ve read it, thanks.” She looked back at the screen and I tried not to roll my eyes. Deep breaths Fin, we like Sharon now. Embrace change. 

“I assumed you had, but I still have your bookmark.” I pulled the corner of the manilla folder from between the pages, she recognised the dossier that she’d given us in Vienna. “I thought you’d like it back.”

“You thought right.” She looked around again, not subtly. “I’ve been telling everyone that someone else has it, they were starting to get suspicious.” No shit, their whole damned file on their main suspect went missing. She didn’t have to give us the whole file, a note with the important bits would have been fine, I’d honestly assumed the file was a duplicate until I overheard Deputy Ross ask her for it. It’s like she learned nothing from Peggy at all...maybe if I survived this I’d try to help her suck less. 

“Why would the task force release this photo to begin with?” Steve saw me giving her the file and had something more pertinent to say before my internal thoughts spilled out. 

“Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?” She shrugged.

“Right.” He agreed, Elena tore her eyes from the screen and joined the conversation, seeing where Steve was going. 

“It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier.” How did we not see it sooner?

“You’re saying someone framed him to find him.”

“Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing.” Sam was trying to poke holes in the argument but he wasn’t doing a great job. They’d been looking in all the wrong places. 

“He didn’t bomb the UN, that turns a lot of heads.” Steve countered.

“He wanted to be left alone, you can’t do that and do this.” Elena pointed to the newspaper with the photo from Vienna plastered across the front. 

“Yeah, but that doesn’t guarantee that whoever framed him would get him, it guarantees that we would.” Sharon’s eyes flick to her colleagues in the room, checking them off a suspect list in her head before stopping on the evaluator on screen with Bucky.

“Yeah.” Steve agreed. We turned to the screen, our undivided attention on the man alone in the room with one of the deadliest sleeper agents in written history. 

“Tell me, Bucky. You’ve seen a great deal, haven’t you?” The evaluator’s voice had a european accent, not surprising we were in Belgium, but it didn’t reassure me either. 

“I don’t want to walk about it.” Bucky answered. 

“Do you fear that...if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop? Don’t worry. We only have to talk about one.” The building lost power before we heard which one.

“Great. Come on, guys, get me eyes on Barnes. Go.” Ross ordered over a hand radio.

“FRIDAY, get me the source of that outage.” Even through the glass I could hear the panic in everyone’s voices. We turned to Sharon, expectantly. 

“Sub-level 5, east wing.” 

“Go, get Bucky.” I ordered Steve and Sam as I held Elena’s arm. “We’ll try to clear an exit.”

  
  


**[Bucky - 17:45 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

_ If G-d don’t follow me - Trubdr _

“What the hell is this?” The main power was out, emergency lights were flashing. The man questioning me looked unconcerned, which in my experience was never a good sign. 

“Why don't we discuss your home? Not Romania. Certainly not Brooklyn, no. I mean, your real home.” He removed his glasses as he pulled a familiar red book from his bag. He walked toward me, reading the familiar words with a pen light. 

_ [Longing] _

“Желание.” I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the words.

“No.” I leaned my head back, trying to put distance between me and that book. He walked closer. 

[ _ Rusted] _

“Ржавый. 

“Stop.” I begged, I wasn’t too proud to beg. He didn’t know what he was doing, what this was taking from me. 

[ _ Seventeen] _

“Семнадцать.” Or did he?

“Stop.” I asked again, flexing against my bonds with a sneer. Without the electromagnets reinforcing them, I felt them budge. 

[ _ Daybreak ]. [Furnace. nine.] _

“Рассвет.” I screamed, clenching my fists as I ripped free of the restraints. “Печь. Девять.”

I slammed my body against the door of my plastic cage like a trapped animal desperately looking for a way out, any way out. 

[ _ Benign] _

“Добросердечный.” I punched harder, watching scratches appear in the clear wall as I threw everything I had at it. 

“No...no…” Scratches...only scratches. I kept hitting it harder with every word, hoping at the very least the pain would keep the words from taking control of me. It was a desperate thought, I could already feel the buzz of white noise in my brain, waiting to overwhelm me.

[ _ Homecoming. One.] _

“Возвращение на Родину. Один..” The door flew across the room, I’d done it. I was out. 

[ _ Freight car.] _

“Грузовой вагон.” I fell to my knees, I’d done it. I was out. I was free. I…

[ _ Soldier.?] _

“Солдат?”

“Я готов отвечать.” I answered my commander, waiting for instruction. 

“Mission report. December 16, 1991.”

  
  


**[Steve - 17:58 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

No one stopped us on the way to the east wing and by the time we reached sublevel 5 there didn’t seem to be anyone left to keep us out. Bodies littered the floor, I didn’t see any blood but I was afraid to check for signs of life. It would be easier to tell myself that they would be fine, but I’d never been good at lying. Not even to myself. I knelt beside the closest guard to check for a pulse when I heard someone calling for help. 

“Help me. Help.” I stood to see where it was coming from and spotted the evaluator on the floor. Perfect. I walked to where he lay crumpled on the chamber floor. I wasn’t buying it. 

“Get up.” He didn’t move and the fact that he wasn’t out cold told me everything I needed to know about his involvement in our current situation. I grabbed him by his jacket and shoved him against the concrete wall. “Who are you? What do you want?” He didn’t struggle, he didn’t try to convince me of his innocence. He just smirked as he answered. 

“To see an empire fall.”

I heard something impact the wall behind me and turned to see Bucky taking a swing at Sam before grabbing him by the face and throwing him into the empty pod. I moved to engage, trying to get between them. He swung at my head, I ducked and slipped around him, trying to lure him away from Sam before throwing a hook at his head. He dodged and swung his metal arm at my face, I leaned back to avoid it and caught a boot to the chest that sent me flying into the other room. I scrambled to my feet, blocking another kick. I moved, walking back to avoid the onslaught of attacks coming at me one after the other. My back hit the elevator and he slammed his fist into it, denting the metal. He pulled back for another blow and I caught his fist in my hands. He tried to push his fist into my chest but I held him back, I wasn’t ready when he shifted and pulled away from me, before slamming me through the elevator doors. I hit the side of the shaft on the way down, hitting the bottom with a hard thud. I pushed myself up, taking off my jacket before grabbing the cables and starting to climb. I couldn’t let him get away. 

  
  


**[Elena - 18:02 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

“Evac all civilians. Get me a perimeter around the building, and gunships in the air.” Ross was barking orders over the handheld, Fin and I were trying to push through the crowd but we weren’t having much luck formulating a plan in the chaos. We watched Sharon leading Natasha and Tony out, we weren’t sure where too but chances were it was the right direction. We followed. 

We got eyes on James, he was fighting off agents in what appeared to be a cafeteria of some kind. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones here. I watched Tony as he flattened himself against a corner, peeking out to assess the situation. He stepped out from cover, his hand now in a compact version of his ironman gauntlet as he hit James with a pulser blast. He cringed, the blast distracting him from the agent he was about to shoot. My ears were still ringing as Tony rushed him, firing again. James ducked, avoiding the bulk of the blast before engaging with Tony hand to hand. I watched as James brought up the pistol in his hand, pointing it at Tony’s face, I held my breath when I heard it go off and let out a relieved sigh when I realized Tony had caught the bullet in his glove. When James tried to regain control of the firearm Tony held on, I saw the lower detach from the slide as it came free from his grasp, leaving James with a useless piece of metal. Tony backhanded him in the face a second before James kicked him backwards. 

Fin met my eyes, making sure this was the plan before we jumped into the fight. I charged James, leading with a kick as I tried to knock him off balance. I got a good look at his face and saw that his eyes were vacant, the way they had been before...when he wasn’t himself. I heard Fin running up behind me and dropped to try and sweep his legs out from under him as she leapt into him, slamming both fists into his throat. He stumbled back, Fin landed in front of him, not hesitating as she drove a right cross into his groin. She kicked him in the face, spinning with another kick when he brought his arm up, catching her under the knee before throwing her over his shoulder and into a table. I grabbed him from behind, dropping my weight to try to throw him off balance. When he didn’t budge I used the momentum to swing my legs around and over his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck as I pounded on his thick skull. He slammed me onto a table and wrapped his metal fingers around my throat, I held on with my legs, not prepared to let him go that easily. 

“You could at least recognize me” I croaked as he leaned onto me, keeping me pinned to the table as my vision started to dim around the edges. Someone knocked him off of me and I laid there gasping as I tried to get oxygen back to my brain. 

“Elena!” Fin came into my line of sight, pulling me upright. “You ok?” I nodded, still incapable of speaking. I looked around but didn’t see James.

  
  


**[Steve - 18:22 May 10th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

I saw him heading up, I thought I could catch him but by the time I ran onto the roof Bucky was already in the helicopter. No. I wasn’t letting this happen again. I sprinted toward the rising chopper, leaping to grab the landing gear. The sudder redistribution of weight caused it to dip and I felt my feet touch the tarmac. I strained against the lift of the rotors, unable to do anything but pull. My feel slid across the roof, I tried to get traction and failed as the helicopter dragged me toward the edge. My feet went off the roof, hitting the chain link safety fencing below as I grabbed the metal rail that framed the helipad. I gritted my teeth against the strain, trying to keep Bucky from escaping. I tried to readjust my grip to pull the helicopter back in but I wasn't strong enough. There was a moment of slack before the nose of the chopper slammed into the edge of the landing pad, the rotor blades smashing to pieces around me as I tried to duck out of the way. I barely miss being hit by the tail as it spins around, inches over my head. 

The helicopter teeters on the edge of the roof, a mangled heap of what it was only moments ago. I start to get to my feet and look into the cracked windshield when Bucky’s arm smashes through the plexiglass and grabs my throat. The sudden movement unbalances the wreckage and I feel it start to slide. I try to push myself away from the windshield hoping to pull Bucky through the window but he isn’t budging. I hear the sound of metal shearing off as the tail falls over the edge, crashing into the river below. The whole thing starts to slide and I try to fight it, I try to keep him up here with me but there’s too much weight. I feel the moment it goes over the edge, I expect him to let go. 

He doesn’t, and for a single weightless second I think...Fin is going to be so pissed. 


	6. The Burden

**[Bucky - 05:46 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

_The Burden - Weeping Willows_

When I came too I could hear a helicopter in the distance and shook my head against the noise. I was sitting hunched uncomfortably on a box and felt like I had the worst hangover of my life. I tried to stand and was met with resistance, turning I saw an industrial vice clamped onto my arm. Great.

“Hey, Cap!” I heard a vaguely familiar voice ring out, echoing off the walls of the abandoned warehouse. They both walked into the room, keeping their distance as they watched me cautiously. 

“Steve.” I try to shift into a more comfortable position but my options are limited. 

“Which Bucky am I talking to?” He asked, gaze hard. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I knew I’d fucked up. The time for pretending was over. 

“Your mom’s name was Sarah.” I tried to think of something no one else would know and chuckled at what came to mind. “You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.”

“Can't read that in a museum.” He sounded relieved. Good.

“Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?” Sam argued, unconvinced and reinforcing my concern that something bad had happened. It was always bad when I felt like this afterwards.

“What did I do?” I had to know.

“Enough.” It’s all he said, which means whatever I thought it was probably worse. 

“Oh, God, I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words.” It was why I hid, I’d put all this effort into staying away from the people I cared about so WHEN someone found out how to use this...thing, in me. They couldn’t use it against them. 

“Who was he?” 

“I don't know.” I didn’t recognize the man, he wasn’t anyone who’d controlled me before. 

“People are dead. The bombing, the setup. The doctor did all that just to get 10 minutes with you. I need you to do better than ‘I don't know’.” He sounded frustrated, impatient, but not mad.

“He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where.”

“Why would he need to know that?” It was a good question, and unfortunately one I had an answer for. 

“Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier.” No one responded to the bomb I’d just dropped, Sam and Steve just looked at each other with expressions I could only interpret as varying degrees of ‘what the fuck’. They weren’t wrong. After a moment I heard a door being opened somewhere in the warehouse, by body tensing as I prepared for someone to find us. I heard laughter instead, a woman laughing at something someone said. I recognized it. Fin, Steve’s girlfriend, or no...they’d been on a break, whatever that meant, when I left. If Fin was here then…

“Elena.” I tried to get to my feet, the vice keeping me from doing so. “Elena!” I called loud enough for my voice to bounce off the metal walls and she jogged into view. I tried to pull against my trapped arm to go to her, swearing in russian when I couldn’t. She closed the distance between us, laying a hand on my shoulder. 

_[Stop it, you’re going to hurt yourself.]_

“Прекрати, ты собираешься навредить себе.” She said gently. 

_[I needed to see you.]_

“Мне нужно было увидеть тебя” I admitted before switching to English.“ I needed to know it is really you.”

“I’m right here.” She smiles, brushing the hair out of my face.

_[_ _They should have sent you after me in the first place, i might not have run.]_

“Они должны были послать тебя за мной, во-первых, я бы не убежал.” I added, looking over her shoulder at Sam, who crossed his arms disapprovingly.

“If you hadn’t run, you would have gotten to see me sooner, I was waiting outside.” 

“He should have led with that.” I nodded to Steve and she glanced at him before looking back at me. 

“He didn’t know.” She looks a little sad, having kept something from him with the hindsight that it might have been helpful. I watched Steve lean down to whisper something to Fin before she takes him by the wrist and leads him out. He looks back at me but goes willingly. 

“At first, when I started to remember...I thought it was just a dream, that I was putting your face where it didn’t belong. I’m glad I was wrong.” I reached up and touched her face with my free hand. 

“How much do you remember?” her eyes searched my face and the memory of my face between her thighs flashes in my mind, a memory that got me through more than a few cold and lonely nights. I can’t help the lopsided grin on my face as I pull her close to whisper in her ear. 

_[I remember what you taste like, my beautiful girl. My wolf]_

“Я помню, какой у тебя вкус, моя прекрасная девушка. Мой волк.” Elena’s face goes red. 

“What did he say?” Sam asked impatiently. 

“He whispered it for a reason.” She steps back and starts releasing the vice, he moves forward to stop her and she waves him off. “If he runs again it’s on me...but he won’t.”

  
  


**[Fin - 05:52 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

“Why do you not seem surprised by this?” Steve whispered as he watched Elena and Bucky together, confusion clear on his face. I pulled him out of the room, not wanting to step on their moment. 

“You already know how they met, she told you...she just left out the part where she fell in love with him. Hardcore, will die for him love. She only joined S.H.I.E.L.D. because she thought they could help her find him.” I looked back into the room, his hand holding her face gently. 

“We didn’t know it at the time but Sitwell sending us to Franz Josef Land that first time wasn’t a coincidence. They knew that someone in Wakanda had gotten close to him, they eventually figured out who. Lucky for us her file made her seem like any other agent.” I waved my hand in the air, sweeping away the tangent I'd gone on. “Regardless he saved her life there and seeing him again, seeing that part of him recognised her, only made her focus more on getting him back. She’s been trying to find him longer than you’ve even been awake.” 

Steve started to say something but I stopped him, knowing what he was going to ask. 

“She didn’t realize it was Bucky, she only ever knew him as James. If she had you would have been told as soon as you were up and around. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have wanted to save Bucky Barnes.” she smiled weakly. “When he resurfaced in D.C. she went after him and I backed her up, I knew what he meant to her and frankly I didn’t trust anything coming out of S.H.I.E.L.D. once they labeled you enemy number one....After the carriers went down and I found where he left you and Elena went after him.”

“Did she find him?” I saw his jaw clench and knew he'd already put the pieces together, that the whole time he’d been looking, Elena had known where he might be.

“I told her not to tell me.” I shrugged.

“You what?” He looked genuinely confused. I took a deep breath.

“This might be hard to explain…” I ran my hand through my loose hair nervously. 

“Try.” He was not a happy camper, his hands on his hips made that very clear. 

“When I decided to give you my file... with everything that was happening, hydra and shield...I was done keeping secrets. You, Elena, and Peggy were the only people I had that I trusted. I wasn’t going to lie to you for her, but It wasn’t my place to tell her that she had to tell you. I trusted her to tell me if there was something I needed to know.” When he didn’t say anything I continued, ignoring his clenched fists. “Anyway, As much as she tried to hide it and I tried not to see it, I still noticed. He was in our attic for a while...after Ultron... Bucky is the only thing E would put before the rest of us. She was helping him hide from the people that wanted to use him.”

“And from us.” He added, crossing his arms. “We could have protected him. We could have kept him safe.”

“Us and what army?” I hadn’t meant the words to come out but they had so I kept going and hoped for the best. “SHIELD was down, it was just a handful of us against all of them! Even if we had hidden him away they would have known we were hiding him and come after us even harder. He was safer on his own...If it helps she didn’t like lying about it, but she thought it was the right thing to do.”

“You agree?” the muscles in his jaw twitched again and I knew he was trying not to be angry, he wasn’t doing a great job of it, he always used short and to the point sentences when he was angry. Normally I found it endearing but this time it was directed at me. 

“Yes. I do.”

“Why?” 

“Because I know how she feels...and if the tables were turned, I'd be willing to lie to my friends to keep you safe too.”

His shoulders dropped as he looked at the ceiling, resignation on his face. That’s right, you take a minute to feel like an ass for getting mad about it. I’ll wait. 

“You really asked Elena to lie to you so you didn’t have to lie to me?” He ran a hand down his exhausted face before dropping his arms at his sides.

“Well when you put it that way it sounds dumb.” I closed the distance between us, putting my fingers through his belt loops and tugging playfully. “Besides, I'm not good at lying.”

“Fin...it’s literally your job.”

“I’m good at lying to those people! I don’t like those people...I’m bad at lying to people I like.”

“You know, that’s what a good liar would say to make people believe that they were telling the truth.”

“I hate you.” I laughed. He put his hands on my shoulders. 

“You’re right, you are a terrible liar.” He kissed me on the forehead. “Come on, let’s go make sure no one’s killed each other without us.” I walked back into the room with his arm around my shoulder, holding him close to me. When Bucky saw us he smiled.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere safe playing with dolls?” he shifted on his feet, rotating his metal arm, trying to realign his shoulder.

“Took you long enough.” I teased ignoring Steve’s eyebrow raise in my direction. There would be a lot to catch him up on. “Let’s see what else remember.” I nodded to Steve. 

“Who are the other Winter Soldiers?” He asked, getting back to the task at hand. 

“Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum.”

“Serum, I thought no one had replicated Erskine’s formula?” I asked, surprised. 

“They haven’t, but Howard got close.”

“Howard Stark?” Steve clarified. Bucky nodded. 

“They all turn out like you?” Sam asked, sincerely.

“Worse.”

“The doctor, could he control them?” The added ‘like he controlled you.’ had been implied but we all heard it. 

“Enough.”

“He said he wanted to see an empire fall.”

“With these guys he could do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize, They can take a whole country down in one night. You'd never see them coming.”

“This would have been a lot easier a week ago.” Sam walked up to Steve, not happy about any of this. I couldn’t disagree. 

“If we call Tony…” Steve started. 

“If we call Tony, we’ll all be in a box right beside Bucky.” I did not want that.

“We could try.” Elena offered optimistically. 

“No, he won't believe us.” Sam shook his head.

“Even if he did…” Steve shrugged. 

“Who knows if the Accords would let him help.” Sam said flatly.

“We're on our own.” I squeezed him to me, trying to reassure him. 

“Maybe not.” Sam thought for a second. “I know a guy.”

“I’ll make some calls.” I pulled out my phone, prepared to make my message short so I could turn it back off before it could be tracked. I wasn’t about to go into this without our gear. 

  
  


**[Steve - 07:17 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

I breathed a sigh of relief when there actually was a car waiting under the bridge. When Fin said Sharon was going to get our gear, I’d expected it to be a trap.

“I’ll wait in the car.” Bucky announced. “I’m pretty sure I tried to kill her earlier today...she got between me and the roof.” I nodded. He hadn’t wanted to come but there was no way I was leaving him behind with Fin and Elena. Not that I thought he would hurt them, or that they couldn’t handle it, but their faces weren’t currently on the most wanted list. It would be hard for them to maintain that low profile with him around and we needed people that still had a low profile. I looked at Sam. 

“I’ll stay with him.” he shrugged. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car. 

“Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car.” She looked at the bug disapprovingly.

“It's low profile.” And it was easy to steal. 

“Good, because this stuff tends to draw a crowd.” She opened the trunk, it looked like everything was there. I wasn’t sure how she pulled it off but I imagined the panic hadn’t settled much since we left her offices.

“We owe you again.” I wasn’t sure how long we could keep relying on her connection with the CIA to get us what we needed. We’d run out of favors eventually, even faster if we got her burned in the process. 

“Keeping a list.” She smiled, looking back at the car where Bucky and Sam sat. Neither of them looked happy with the arrangement. “You know, he kinda tried to kill me.”

“Sorry. I'll put it on the list, too.” I hoped that getting her involved ever further wasn’t a mistake. Information was one thing, that could leak from anywhere, but the gear. They’d find out it was her, there was no talking your way out of that. I’d wanted to send Fin and Elena in but Fin insisted that Sharon would help, claiming that anyone raised by Peggy would want to be on the right side of things. It didn’t mean that she wouldn’t have to face the consequences. “They're going to come looking for you.”

“I know.” She nods. 

“Thank you, Sharon.” We stood awkwardly for a minute and I couldn’t help but think how shitty all of this was. She’d lost Peggy too, and helping us would probably end her career but here she was. I stepped toward her, putting my arms out to go in for a hug, offering some comfort. I didn’t expect her hand to go to my neck, or for my face to be pulled to hers. I expected maybe a quick peck on the cheek but what I got was...more than I bargained for. I pulled back, probably not fast enough not far enough but I was still processing. Was I really that bad at reading signals that women were attracted to me? She must have read the expression on my face because she started to talk.

“That was…”

“Late?” I offered. If she’d done that when I thought she was just my neighbor, Kate; or even just after I found out she was more than that, maybe it could have gone this way, but she’d missed that chance by a long shot.

“Damn...right.” She stepped back as though suddenly remembering something, or someone. “I should go.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I looked back at the beetle where Sam and Bucky were both smirking at me, expressions somewhere between brotherly pride and ‘it was nice knowing you’. I got our gear and went to the car, loading everything into the back seat with Bucky before getting in and closing the door. Sam opened his mouth to speak and I held up a hand to stop him. 

“If either of you tell Fin, just know you will be responsible for Sharon’s death and probably mine. If you’re lucky she won’t consider you acomplicases for not stopping it.”

“I was just gonna say that you better hope Fin never finds out. If she has a bad side, I don't want on it. She scares me.”

“I don’t know, I like Fin.” Bucky shrugged. 

“Of course YOU do. You scary as hell.” Sam leaned away from him, Bucky ignored the jab.

“I won’t say anything.” He promised. “If only so I can hold it over your head once we get through this.” He chuckled. There was the Bucky I grew up with. 

  
  


**[Fin - 11:56 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

“They’re fine.” Clint’s voice shook me out of my thousand yard stare and back to level B6 of the nearly empty parking garage.

“I know.” I nodded, lying to myself. Part of me kept expecting Sharon to change her mind and turn us all in to keep her job. I knew better, but it didn’t keep me from thinking it to distract myself from other insecurities regarding her. It was easier to picture her betraying us all and justifying the knot in my gut than admitting the truth, she was pretty and she flirted and I’d never quite gotten the hang of that last bit. Clint was still looking at me with a fatherly expression of ‘you have nothing to worry about’. He knew me better than a lot of people and it made the insightful reassurance all the more frustrating. “I know!” I said again, throwing up my arms as the blue VW puttered up the ramp. I felt the tension in my shoulders release as they pulled into the parking space. It was almost comical watching the three well built men climbing out of the bug, but they managed it gracefully. 

“Cap.” Clint met him between the cars and shook his hand.

“You know I wouldn't have called If I had any other choice.” Steve apologized.

“Hey man, you're doing me a favor.” He glanced back at Wanda. “Besides, I owe a debt.”

“Thanks for having my back.” He nodded to Wanda.

“It was time to get off my ass.” She shrugged, trying her best to seem unconcerned with the current situation. I had to give her credit, I honestly wasn’t sure if she would come.

“How about our other recruit?” Steve asked curiously, looking at the windowless van behind Clint. I looked between it and the blue beetle realizing that the men in this outfit weren’t great at picking inconspicuous vehicles. Between the kidnapper van and the clown car it was a miracle either of them made it here unnoticed. I heard Clint saying something about coffee as he pulled the sliding door, a man laying on the bench startled himself into a sitting position before crawling out and asking Clint. 

“What timezone is this?” The man glanced at the group around him, his eyes landing on Steve and I had to cover my grin at his awestruck face. Clint shoved him toward us with an encouraging ‘come on, go on.’ The man stepped forward to shake Steve’s hand. “Captain America.” He tried to contain himself but his handshake shook more enthusiastically instead of letting go.

“Mr. Lang.” Steve was trying to be serious, this was serious, but wasn’t sure how he was holding it together. 

“It's an honor. I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome!” Steve nodded in agreement as Lang let go, turning to Wanda and pointing back at Steve. “Captain America! I know you, too. You're great!” Before anyone can say anything Lang turned back to Cap, still nervously acting on impulse as he reached out and grabbed his shoulders, giving the muscles a quick squeeze. Steve turned to where I was standing, his serious expression breaking for a moment when he caught me laughing. 

“Jeez. Ah, look, I want to say, I know you know a lot of super people, so... Thinks for thanking of me.” After a breath he notices Sam for the first time and points, despite them being only feet apart. “Hey, man!”

“What's up, Tic Tac?” Sam nods, doing a better job than all of us at playing the hardass. 

“Uh, good to see you. Look, what happened last time when I…” Lang started

“It was a great audition, but it'll... it'll never happen again.” Sam cut him off and I shot him a glance that said I was getting the rest of that story out of him later, whether he liked it or not. 

“They tell you what we're up against?” Elena interjected from where she leaned against the beetle with Bucky, she was hesitant to bring a new person into this...especially without knowing everything they were putting at risk by fighting with us.

“Something about some... psycho-assassins?” Lang summarized.

“You’re not technically wrong.” I patted him on the shoulder as I walked past to stand by Wanda, she handed me a backpack with my spare gear, I saw she had one for Elena too. Bless her. 

“We're outside the law on this one. So, if you come with us, you're a wanted man.” Steve explained, making sure he understood completely. 

“Yeah, well, what else is new?” He shrugged, seeming genuinely unconcerned. 

“We should get moving.” Bucky announced, our friendly chit chat here out in the open was making him nervous and he had every right to be. Every second we spent playing ‘get to know you’ was time everyone else was using to catch up with us.”

“We got a chopper lined up.” Clint hadn’t had much trouble with that, having a commercial pilots license under an alias opened more doors than you’d expect if you knew the right people. 

_[_ _This is an emergency. All passengers must evacuate the airport immediately.]_

 ** _‘Dies ist eine Notsituation. Alle Passagiere müssen den Flughafen sofort evakuieren.’_** The loudspeaker voice reverberated off the concrete around us as it told us we were running out of time.

“They're evacuating the airport.” Bucky translated, seeing the confusion on Lang’s face.

“Stark.” Sam looked at us, stating the thought as fact.

“Stark?” Lang looked confused, I guess we didn’t actually tell the new guy everything then. Oops. 

“Suit up.” Steve grabbed his gear from the beetle and pulled me into the van, shutting the door behind us and leaving everyone else to find their own changing rooms. Most of the men didn’t need to change as much as they needed to put on some layers, Wanda was ready to go and I knew Elena was small enough to change in the back seat of the black town car we’d driven here. The windows were tinted enough, she’d have privacy, and I kept thinking about what gear Wanda might have brought for her. 

My brain started running through tactics as I pulled my hair into a high ponytail; the strengths of the people with us, the weaknesses of the people in our way. My brain barely registered that Steve had said something as I tried to stop thinking and focus on getting my gear on. 

“Fin.” He laid a hand on my shoulder, turning me to look at him. His expression was knotted with worry and I wondered how many times he’d said my name before touching me to get my attention. 

“Sorry, I was just…”

“In work mode, I know.” He ran his hand up to my jaw, rubbing his thumb across my cheek. He held my tac vest up to me “Let me help.” We shifted on the seat and he slid my arms into the vest, buckling it in the front and making sure it was properly secured. I couldn’t help smiling as he slid off the seat to kneel in front of me and I watched him fasten each strap. I didn’t need help but if making sure I was properly outfitted for a fight made him feel better I would let him do it. I wouldn’t let anyone KNOW that I let him do it, but he wasn’t going to say anything. 

He started checking the rest of my gear, going over each item from a checklist in his head. When he started double checking I put my hands under his chin and lifted his face to mine, laying a soft kiss on his lips. 

“Everything accounted for, Captain?” I leaned my forehead against his and felt him taking slow, deep breaths trying to make the moment last. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world worked, not for us anyway. I started to lean back but he stopped me with a hand on the back of my neck, pulling me in for another kiss, this one less gentle than mine but no less controlled. 

“You’re missing something.” He let me go and I started checking over the gear myself. Vest, check. Weapons and non-lethal ammo, check. Earpiece, check...what was missing? 

“What’s missing?” Unable to sort it out on my own I looked back at him, noticing for the first time what he’d pulled out while I'd been distracted. 

“This.” He held the open ring box between us, searching my face but not saying a word. I found the word first.

“No.” there were more words that were supposed to go with it but the look on his face at that first word had the rest calling a retreat. 

“No?” He looked so hurt, I scrambled to get the rest out and suddenly felt bad for laughing at Lang for being so flustered. 

“No...not like this.” I gestured around us, to the van and the airport and the situation we found ourselves in. 

“I had…”He stumbled. “I had something more...romantic planned for after Lagos, but with everything that happened I…” I cut him off with a kiss. 

“I will marry you.” I smiled. “But I’m not wearing that ring until after we get through this. I don’t want it just because you think you might not get the chance later.”

“That’s not--” He tried to argue but I cut him off. 

“Just promise you’ll give it to me after.” I made myself smile to hide the tears I felt burning behind my eyes. “After we win, even if it’s not more romantic than a rental van at a german airport.” He kissed me again. This time there was no control, no gentleness, only a reflection of the desperation I felt as I hoped we’d get that chance. When he stopped kissing me he didn't let go, holding my forehead to his and savoring the moment for one more second. 

"At least wear these..." He pulled the chain from around his neck, dog tags dangling from the end. "For luck."

"Steve Rogers, are you just trying to make sure people know I'm yours?" I wipe the smile off my face, taking the tags from him and fastening the clasp around my neck.

"Of course not. I want everyone to know I'm yours." He kissed me one last time. and got out of the van. 


	7. Go to War

**[Steve - 12:02 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

_ Stand by me - Ki Theory _

I told the others to hang back, I knew once I was out in the open that Tony wouldn’t be able to resist showing his hand, I should have known Fin wasn’t going to let me go alone. I listened to her footsteps close behind me and hoped she’d be able to help me stall while the others found the quinjet. Clint’s helicopter was great, but whatever Tony had used to bring in reinforcements would be faster and more equipped to disappear. When we reached the open tarmac I leaned into a slow jog, heading for the helicopter we’d originally planned to use, no use letting Tony know we wouldn’t be needing it. The electromagnetic pulse grenade fried it before we’d even crossed the field, barely preceding Tony and Rhodes making a grand entrance. They landed in front of us and I felt FIn come to stand close behind me, reminding me that she had my back. 

“Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport.” Tony’s helmet opened so we could see his face, he had a nice shiner from Bucky and under different circumstances I might have felt bad about it, but right now his classic attempt at defusing the situation with humor had me wanting to punch him myself. “Don't you think that's weird?”

“Not really that weird if you’re following them.” Fin mumbled to herself, clearly sharing my feeling of impatience with the situation. 

“Definitely weird.” Rhodes added helpfully. I didn’t have time for this, I had to make him understand...now might be the last chance I got. 

“Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.” All he had to do was watch the surveillance, he’d see what happened yesterday wasn’t Bucky, he’d see the truth. 

I felt Fin elbow my side to get my attention, when I looked back at her she nodded to my right. I watched T’Challa leap over a nearby luggage car before landing quietly at my three o’clock. 

“Captain.” He said as he straightened. 

“Your highness.” I bowed my head in his direction, I was hoping Elena had been able to get through to him before...I guess it was hard to force reason through grief. 

“Anyways. Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?” Brother? Oh Tony, we both know that’s a stretch. 

“You're after the wrong guy.” I couldn’t put it more simply than that.

“Your judgment is askew.” The levity was gone. “Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.”

“Because he was ordered to by that man claiming to be a psychiatrist! Tony, it wasn’t his fault! He was programmed to be a weapon and that’s all he was yesterday.” The frustration was clear in Fin’s voice, I put my arm out to keep her from closing the distance to Tony. We were here to stall, not fight...not yet. 

“And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.”

“Steve.” Natashas voice came from behind me, I turned to face her and realised we’d let ourselves get boxed in. “You know what's about to happen. Do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?” Fin looks at Nat, both of us still confused about why she’s siding with Tony. 

“All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!” Before I could wonder what in the hell ‘underoos’ was supposed to mean, my shield was pulled off my arm and my hands were stuck together with what looked like spider webbing but felt like steel. A slim figure in a red suit and mask landed on the truck nearby, my shield in his hand. “Nice job, kid.”

“Thanks.” The ‘kid’s’ voice cracked. “Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better. It's just the new suit... Well, it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's-It's perfect. Thank you.”

“Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation.” Tony explained. 

“Okay.” The kid saluted me. “Cap... Captain. Big fan, I'm Spider-Man.” This was unbelievable.

“Spider-man? How old are you?” Fin asked as she started tugging at the mess covering my hands. 

“Yeah, we'll talk about it later. Just…” Tony was doing everything to keep the kid from talking, it wasn’t working. 

“Hey, everyone.” He interrupted Tony and waved at the group nonchilantly and I couldn't help but feel a little smug that Tony’s reinforcements were a teenager that clearly had no understanding of how seriously his situation was. 

“... good job.” Tony sighed. 

“You've been busy.” I started, when had he even recruited this kid?

“And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place.” I exhaled, dropping my shoulders as Tony spoke. I didn’t appreciate a guilt trip from someone who wasn’t willing to listen to anyone but himself. 

“You had her under house arrest for doing her job! And you’re one to talk about dragging people into this.” Fin gestured at the kid holding my shield. “Is he even old enough to sign the accords? Or does he not have to follow the rules because YOU decided it was okay?”

“I'm trying to keep... I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.” It was the only response Tony had, and it wasn’t enough. 

“You did that when you signed.” If he wasn’t going to listen, I was done talking. 

“Alright, We're done.” He said it quietly, turning back to yell orders in my direction. “You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys... with no compunction about being impolite.” He was laying out our options, and he had a point, if it wasn’t him bringing us in it would be an army and they wouldn’t be willing to talk either. I looked over my shoulder at Fin, her expression saying everything, she wasn’t ready to give up on this either. “Come on.” Tony pleaded as Sam’s voice crackled in my comm.

“We found it. Their Quinjet's in hanger five, north runway.” 

I didn’t wait for a better moment, I could only hope that the movement I'd seen in the garage across the field had meant everyone was in position. I held up my bound hands and felt them come free as I watched an arrow fly over me. Looks like everyone was ready. 

“Alright, Lang.” Let’s hope Sam was right about this guy. 

“Hey, guys, something…” The kid didn’t get to finish his sentence before Lang appeared out of nowhere, kicking him off the roof of the truck before landing in front of me, shield in hand. 

“I believe this is yours, Captain America.” I took the shield from him, fastening it to my arm as we watched them scramble. 

“...three on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff, I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap and Fin?”

“Got three in the terminal, Wilson, Allen and Barnes.” Rhodey announced. 

“Barnes is mine!” T’Challa barely turned to run before Fin was on his heels, I bounced the shield off of Rhodes to slow him down before I was right behind her. I whistled to get her attention and she held her hand out without turning her head, I tossed her the shield. She barely missed a stride as she held it level and spun her body, building momentum before releasing it into T’Challa’s back and causing him to pitch forward. I caught it on the rebound and dove onto him, trying to get him in a headlock. He rolled me off of him and made sure to be out of reach when he got back on his feet. He’d also ensured that I was between him and Fin, lucky for us we were still between him and the terminal. 

“Move, Captain. I won't ask a second time.”

“T’Challa...please...” Fin tries, but he ignores her, leaping at me. I barely get the shield up in time to block him from kicking my face. I looked for Fin, wondering why she wasn’t helping and realized she was watching the kid crawl over the glass roof of the terminal as she relayed information to the rest of the team. 

“Heads up E, the kid is coming your way.” She lept onto his back, keeping the barrage off me for a second as he flipped her onto the asphalt. I moved to stay between T’Challa and the terminal entrance, keeping the shield up and wincing as his claws scratched across the metal. Fin got back on her feet, throwing low kicks and jabs that slowed him down but kept him from throwing her again. He caught me with my shield down and placed a good kick to my chest that sent me flying, I was only down for a second before Rhodes was slamming something onto the shield that had my ears ringing. When I look over I see Fin on the ground, ears covered as she tries to keep out the maddening tone, still managing to land a kick to the side of T’challa’s knee as the vibrations settled. 

  
  


**[Elena - 12:11 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

“Kid? What kid?” I tried to get more details as we ran through the terminal but Fin wasn’t answering me, she probably had other things to deal with. 

“What the hell is that?” I turned to see what James was talking about and looked up to see an unfamiliar figure crawling across the roof. 

“I think it’s the kid” I put it together, it wasn’t hard. 

“Everyone's got a gimmick now.” Sam said as we picked up the pace, trying to get ahead of our tail. I heard the glass break a fraction of a second before I felt a foot hit my shoulder, Sam and I went flying into the opposite wall. The sound of boots stomping back towards us had me scrambling to my feet to rin interference between James and the kid, I righted myself just in time to see the vibranium arm swing at the kid’s head. I winced when I heard the metal make contact but when I looked up the kid was holding James’s fist in his hand like it was nothing. 

“You have a metal arm?” He twisted the arm away from him, admiring it. “That is awesome, dude!” James’s eyes were wide with confusion, realizing he’d just tried to punch a child’s head off his shoulders. He looked past the kid, meeting my eyes and looking for direction. I didn’t know what to say, Fin had been right, he was just a kid. 

Before I could say anything Sam flew between us, sweeping the kid into the air and carrying him down the hall. I heard the kid yelling what sounded like miranda rights as James helped me to my feet. I held on to his hand a little longer than necessary before we started trotting after them. When we caught up the kid was swinging from the ceiling and Sam was trying to shoot him off the rafters. 

“Sam, try not to kill him. He’s just a kid.” I reminded him as I watched, I heard metal groaning beside me and turned to see James ripping a sign that said ‘you are her’ on a map off of the wall. “What are you doing?”

“Blunt force trauma is less lethal than anything I have on me at the moment.” He threw the sign up into the rafters before I could protest, pulling us both behind a pillar for cover as we waited for impact. 

“Hey buddy,” James peaked around the pillar. “I think you lost this!” The sign crashed into the concrete and sent chunks flying. I watch as Sam kicks the kid off the rafters, trying to pin him down, but he somehow gets around him and shoots webbing into the wings and they both come crashing into a kiosk full of travel brochures. When we catch up to them on the ground Sam’s arms are pinned with webbing and the kid’s conducting an interview. 

“Those wings carbon fiber?” He doesn’t wait for Sam to answer, I’m not even sure he heard him ask about the webbing before continuing about the wings “ That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio, which, gotta say, that's awesome, man.”

“I don't know if you've been in a fight before but there's usually not this much talking.”

“Alright, sorry, my bad.” I tried to get Sam to get him free, I didn't really think it would be that easy but I hadn't expected the kid to swing from his perch at us. I saw James move to block him but he had the momentum to his advantage and sent us all to the ground floor. Surrounded by shattered glass I try to maneuver carefully only to find my arms stuck to the tile with the same webby substance that had been on Sam. 

“Guys, look. I'd love to keep this up but I've only got one job here today and I gotta impress Mr. Stark, so, i'm really sorry.” He lifts his hand to shoot more webbing, adhering us to the ground even more than we already were, when Redwing lassos the outstretched arm and pulls the kid out the glass roof with a wail. My relief overshadows my concern for the kid, if only momentarily. 

“You couldn't have done that earlier?” James asks flatly. 

“I hate you.” Is all Sam can manage as a response. I shift my hands enough to wriggle free of the deceptively strong web before moving to free my companions. 

“Let's all agree to hate Tony right now, we can hate each other later.”

  
  


**[Fin - 12:19 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

_ Go to War - Nothing More _

When my ears finally stopped ringing I managed to throw T’Challa off of Cap and away from the terminal, he was only down for a second as Rhodes dove to take another shot at Steve with the mace but we were ready for him this time. Cap jumped. Landing a hard kick to the back of the warmachine suit and sending Rhodes into the pavement, sparks hit my leg as I ran beside him taking the opportunity to slam my heel onto the stark brand billy club until it’s lights went out. A pulse from the mech suit rocketed into me, throwing me back a few feet and I watched as Rhodey realized I’d broken his new toy. 

“Cap! Heads up!” Lang ran up to us, tossing Steve what looked like a hot wheels truck. “Throw it at this, NOW!” Lang tossed a small disc into the air and Cap tossed the truck right behind it, the two items met midair and the toy truck that had been flying towards Rhodes became a full sized tanker. 

“Oh come on!” I heard Rhodes yell as the truck landed a few feet in front of him before exploding in a plume of fire and black smoke.

“What the fuck!?” I looked at Lang. 

“Oh man…” Lang looked between me and Cap. “ I thought it was a water truck...uh, sorry…”

“Too late for that now, we have to go.” We had to get to the hangar and get the hell out of here before they got reinforcements because we were fresh out of those at the moment. 

“There’s our ride” I heard Clint’s voice as he and Wanda came around the corner, close on our heels. 

“Nice of you to join us.” I teased as we ran, we could see the quinjet from here. We were going to make it. 

“Come on!” Steve yelled ahead of me, we all picked up the pace as I scanned the tarmac for Elena and company. They spilled out of the terminal, easily getting in step beside us as we ran full tilt for the hangar. 

I almost ran into Steve when he stopped, throwing his arm out to keep everyone behind him safe from the beam of energy carving into the asphalt ahead of us, Vision floating between us and the hangar. Damn it, Vis. 

“Captain Rogers.” He greeted him formally, which was less than reassuring. “I know you believe what you’re doing is right, but for the collective good you must surrender now.” 

The rest of Tony’s crew filed in, landing in a distinct line between us and our way out. I didn’t want to do this, I didn’t want to fight them...but they weren’t giving us much of a choice. 

“What do we do, Cap.” Sam asked. It wasn’t a question that needed asking as much as it was Sam’s way of letting Steve know that we would back his play, no matter what. 

“We fight.” His shoulders stiffened as he strode forward with purpose, the rest of us flanking him as he went from a determined march into a jog that would be fast enough to break their line. They moved toward us at a full sprint and I couldn't keep my brain from thinking this to the most absurd game of chicken I'd ever been a part of. As we got close, the people that could leave the ground, did, leaving the rest of us waiting. Elena moved toward Bucky and I stayed close to Steve as the sides clashed and all hell broke loose. 

Cap blocked Tony’s punch with the shield and I leapt over his back, throwing myself on to the ironman helm and trying to dislodge it before being thrown into the frey. I landed a few feet away as one of Clint’s arrows exploded in Tony’s chest. It was a momentary distraction before he and Steve were at it again. I looked around me, Clint was trying to hit Vision, Natasha was fighting Lang while the kid dodged cars being thrown by Wanda. T’Challa had Bucky in his sights but Elena wasn’t far behind. I looked to Steve as he took another swing at Tony with the shield. 

“Get Bucky to the jet, leave without me if you have to!” I nodded, knowing that Tony had heard the order as well as I had. I sprinted in their direction, catching up with Elena and watching as T’Challa and Bucky held each other by the throats. Bucky wasn’t trying to throw T’Challa off, he wasn’t trying to hurt him either. 

“I didn’t kill your father.” He tried to talk to him, I assumed we were beyond that now. I turned to Elena and she nodded, giving me the go ahead to get there before her. 

“Then why did you run?” I heard T’Challa ask as I tackled him. It wasn’t enough to get him unbalanced but it knocked his grip off of Bucky’s throat and opened the opportunity to strike. Bucky took it, hitting T’Challa in the face a few times before Elena stepped between them, me still holding on to the king’s back and trying to get him grappled. 

“He ran because you were chasing him.” She was pissed, I could see her elongated fangs as she spoke and I knew she was having to keep herself under control. T’Challa threw himself forward, tossing me over his back with the momentum before rolling past Elena and coming up with a kick that sent Bucky flying. He lunged claws first to rip out Bucky’s neck, Elena and I both dove to grab him, stopping him just short of his goal. Wanda must have seen the situation because the king grew a faint red aura as he suddenly became easier to hold. We let him go and she sent him Flying in the opposite direction. 

“Get Bucky to the hangar, Steve said leave him behind if you have to.” I started jogging off. 

“Where are you going?” Elena asked, knowing full well that Steve had ordered me to leave with them. 

“Just get to the hangar!” I yelled before sprinting back into the fight. I caught up with Steve as his shield came back to him, the kid yelling from a perch above. 

“That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all.” He pointed to the shield. 

“He’s not wrong.” I agreed as Steve turned, noticing me for the first time and giving me a look that said I should be in the hangar. 

“Look kid,” He chose to focus on one fight at a time. “There's a lot going on here that you don't understand.

“Mr. Stark said you'd say that. Wow.” He fired webbing at both of us, dragging us toward him. I got a hand free as we reached him but I wasn’t fast enough to keep Cap from being kicked in the face. “He also said to go for your legs.”

I picked up the shield, to give back to Steve as he got to his feet, I wasn't about to fight a child and was perfectly comfortable with him taking the lead on this one. The kid webbed his hands before Steve could get the shield back and the two had a momentary tug of war before Cap jumped into a spin that yanked the web and sent spider boy flying.

I helped him get untangled before handing over the shield and taking a step back. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and I smiled back. 

“I’ll be here if you need me.” He grinned, happy to have me there but still wishing I'd listened to him. 

“I need you on the quinjet.” He answered as he raised the shield, blocking more webbing from hitting him. He reaches around the shield, taking the web in his hand and yanking the kid toward us and hitting him with the shield when he’s close. The kid scrambled to his feet before swinging himself up onto a loading gangway and out of reach. 

“You’re doing great.” I whisper, knowing he heard me. 

“You’re very helpful.” He grumbled sarcastically. I shrugged, I might not be helping in this particular fight but I wasn’t leaving him here either. He looked up at the kid. “Stark tell you anything else?”

“That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous.” When the kid jumped down I thought he was making a run for it, I wasn't expecting him to swing under it. I stepped aside as he flew toward Cap, who leapt into a high kick that sent the kid into the leg of the gangway. 

“Guess he had a point.” Steve shrugged, throwing the shield into the support and sending the structure onto the kid. Luckily whatever powers he had made him strong enough to hold it. “You got heart kid, Where you from?” I walked over to stand by Steve. The kid struggled under the weight but in no real danger of being crushed under it as I looked to see that the path to the hangar was clear...or clear enough...clear-ish...

“Queens” He managed, Steve’s face told me that if we didn’t leave the kid here he was adopting another super. 

“Brooklyn.” He smiled approvingly at the kid before taking my hand and starting to run. The path to the hangar was less than clear when we caught up to Bucky and Elena, not far from where I’d left them. 

“We gotta go, that guy’s probaby in Siberia by now.” Bucky looked around nervously, Steve looked to the sky. 

“Even if we get to the jet…” I didn’t finish, we all saw the problem. 

“We gotta draw out the flyers. I’ll take Vision, you get to the jet.” Steve offered, shot him a look to explain all the ways I didn't like that plan. 

“No, you get to the jet! All of you!” I looked up to see Sam with Rhodes hot on his trail.” The rest of us aren't getting out of here.” Steve opened his mouth to argue but Clint spoke first.

“As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it.”

“This isn't the real fight, Steve.” Sam reminded him. 

“Alright, Sam, what's the play?”

“We need a diversion, something big.” Sam’s tone said that he was open to suggestions. 

“I got something kind of big, but I can't hold it very long.” Lang offered. “On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half... don't come back for me.”

“He's gonna tear himself in half?” Bucky asked, saying what we were all thinking. 

“You're sure about this, Scott?” Steve confirmed, presumably not wanting anyone torn in half on his behalf. 

“Yeah! I do it all the time. I mean once... in a lab.” That was good enough. Steve turned to me. 

“Ready to Run?” He asked, flashing a confident grin. I smiled back, unable to stop myself. 

“No.” I kissed him on the cheek. I wanted to go with him, but I needed to make sure they all got out of here. I turned to Elena. “Make sure he gets back to me in one piece. He has something I want.” I winked at him over her shoulder and started running in the opposite direction of the hangar. 

  
  


**[Bucky - 12:27 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

“Holy shit!” The kid said it, we were all thinking it. 

“I guess that's the signal.” Steve stood on the tarmac, looking at the giant man holding onto Rhodes like he was a toy.

“Way to go, Tic Tac!” Sam cheers over comms, I look back to see the giant guy throw War machine through the air and kick a whole ass bus across the field as we start to make a break for the hangar. I keep looking over my shoulder to make sure Elena is there, catching glances of the chaos behind us. The bus lands in front of the black panther, Fin tackling him as Vision cuts the bus in half keeping them both from being crushed. I lose sight of them as we run under planes but the sounds of metal on metal in the distance don’t do much for my confidence that things are going well. 

As we cross the expanse of empty concrete the tower to the right of the hangar starts to collapse, someone’s seen us. Steve speeds up, trying to beat the tower to the ground but we aren’t going to be able to get there in time. 

“Look!” Elena points at the falling debris, red energy cradling them and holding them aloft, I look behind us and see the girl, Wanda, in the distance, Fin covering her back. “GO!” Elena grabs my hand and I run faster, pulling her behind me. I hear Wanda scream behind us, followed by gunshots and assume Fin is handling whoever went after the girl. We barely make it into the hangar before the tower falls behind us, partially blocking the entry, but the Black Widow is waiting for us. 

“You're not gonna stop.” She’s the only thing standing between us and the jet, and she’s not asking a question.

“You know I can't.” Steve answers simply, not offering any further excuses. 

“I'm gonna regret this.” She takes aim and we all stand there, waiting for her to take her shot...but she doesn't. At least, not at us. She shoots between us, the taser prong striking T’Challa as he climbs over the debris. “Go.” The king gets to his feet and she shocks him again as we make our escape. 

  
  


**[Fin - 12:32 May 11th, 2016 - BERLIN]**

I kept shooting at Rhodes until he stopped pelting Wanda with whatever he was hitting her with, I knew the bullets weren’t doing much more than ringing his bell but without the ability to fly it was all I had to get him off her. When he peeled off to help deal with the giant Lang situation I caught Wanda before she hit the ground. I turned in time to see my friends disappear under the tower as it fell. 

“E?” It was all I could manage. I let myself fall the rest of the way to the ground, cradling Wanda on my lap while I caught my breath. 

“We’re all ok.” She whispered, I let out the breath I'd been holding and jumped as the ground shook under us, the sound of our distraction falling. 

“How about you?” I looked down at Wanda who was still holding her head but she managed a weak thumbs up. I let her go and got to my feet. 

“Does anyone have any orange slices?” Lang asked over comms, I almost laughed as I started jogging in that direction. Wanda could handle herself. 

“You alright Lang?” I might as well check in on everyone while I'm asking. 

“I’m in one piece” he answered as the quinjet flew over us, Rhodes close behind, I watched them get smaller in the distance as Tony joined the pursuit.

“Sam?” My voice cracked, keeping me from saying everything I was thinking. Please Sam, please be able to stop them. We’re so close, they’re so close to getting out of here. 

“I’m on it.” He reassured me as he flew after them. I helped Lang to his feet and scanned the field for Clint, checking on the people left on the ground was the only thing I could do other than helplessly watch the air chase unfold. I saw him in the distance, he was in one piece. Good. 

I looked back to the sky, the jet was almost out of sight but the others were close enough. I watched Falcon’s flares go off, a minor distraction but it slowed him down. I wasn’t expecting the shot from the ground, I saw one of the flyers dive to avoid it but the 2nd wasn’t as lucky. I saw them drop, trail of smoke behind them...I couldn't tell who it was at this distance but they weren’t slowing down…

“Sam? Answer me Sam, what’s going on!?”

“I...I dodged the hit but...Rhodey…” I could hear the rush of air over the comms as he dove. I started to run towards what would be the crash site. 

“SOMEONE CALL MEDICAL, NOW!” I yelled over comms. 

“On it.” Clint answered, I just hoped it wasn’t too late. 


	8. Me and Mine

**[Bucky - 12:46 May 11th, 2016 - EN ROUTE]**

We’d been flying in silence for a while, no one wanting to discuss the consequences they were going to have to pay for helping me. Steve was piloting and I tried to tell myself he was just concentrating on where we were going but Elena hadn’t stopped looking out the window since the airfield. She’d seen Rhodey take the hit and tried to call anyone to ask if he’d survived but we were too far out of range. We watched as the emergency crews surrounded them, as their friends were taken into custody. 

“What's going to happen to your friends?” I wanted to know. If it wasn’t for me they wouldn’t be in this mess. Sure they had the accords, Elena had filled me in, but if i wasn’t part of the equation they may have been able to negotiate, to find a way around it without becoming fugitives. 

“The raft...if they’re lucky.” Elena answered when Steve didn’t, I could see his jaw clenching from where I sat. 

“if they’re not?” I watched Steve, his shoulders tensed.

“Whatever it is... we'll deal with it.”

“I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve.” They were risking everything for me. Their friends were paying the price...for me. Steve used the other soldiers as a reason we needed to follow this ‘doctor’ guy to Siberia, but it wasn’t the only reason. The man had controlled me and knew where to find more like me, it stands to reason he might know how to fix me too. 

“What you did all those years... It wasn't you. You didn't have a choice.” Steve tried to reassure me but his choice of words only reinforced that we were doing this for me as much as the greater good. 

“I know. But I did it.” At some point it didn’t matter why I did the things I did...it didn’t change the fact that I did them. 

“You didn’t want to.” Elena let out a deep sigh as she unbuckled from her seat, laying her hands on my shoulders and sending warm healing energy through my skin. “You two look like shit and we don’t know what we’re about to walk into...lets get you back into fighting shape.”

  
  


**[Fin - 05:13 May 12th, 2016 - THE RAFT]**

_ Me and Mine - The Brothers Bright _

The good news was that the paramedics got to the airport quickly and Rhodey was alive. Steve and the others had gotten away. I kept repeating that silver lining to myself as they pointed guns at my head, stripped me of my tactical gear, cuffed me, and threw me into a black van with the rest of my friends. Our all expenses paid vacation included blindfolds, two helicopter rides, and a lovely ocean view. I felt my ears popping as the raft began to submerge before we were out of the landing pad, I couldn’t imagine that was standard practice but it went a long way toward crushing any hopes of escape. Once we landed on the raft we were provided with beautiful matching blue pajamas, our own private rooms (complete with armed guard), and the most invasive pat down I've ever experienced in my life. 

I saw them strapping Wanda in restraints before tossing her into a cell. I wanted to say something to her, tell her it would be alright, but everything I thought of felt like a lie. Secretary Ross had come down personally once we were locked up to give a rousing speech about how he was right and we all did this to ourselves, I wasn't really listening because I didn’t really care what he had to say. It had only been a few hours since our first visit from Secretary Ross so I didn't bother getting up from my cot when the doors opened again, not until I heard Clint greet our newest visitor. 

“The Futurist, gentlemen!” It was the applause that got my attention at first but the acid dripping from his tone sank deep. “The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not.” Clint was usually our zen, the one that kept us all calm. He’d been pushed too far this time. 

“Give me a break, Barton. I had no idea they'd put you here. Come on.” His tone was apologetic, but in the special way that Tony had that seemed to resolve himself from any actual responsibility. I heard Clint spit and I hoped it was in Tony’s direction, although I wasn't able to see them from my cell. 

“Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony.” I”d never heard Clint truly pissed off before, it was a little terrifying. 

“Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for…”

“Criminals?” I heard him moving around his cell. “Criminals, Tony. Think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda. Or Fin. But here we are.”

“Because you broke the law.”

“Yeah.” Clint didn’t sound amused. 

“I didn't make you!” Tony argued.

“La, la, la, la, la…”

“You read it, you broke it.”

“La, la, la, la la…”

“Alright, you're all grown up, you got a wife and kids. I don't understand, why didn't you think about them before you chose the wrong side?”

“You gotta watch your back with this guy.” Clint called after Tony as he walked away “There's a chance he's gonna break it.” That was a low blow, even for this situation. 

“Hank Pym always said, you never can trust a Stark.” Lang added, I vaguely recognized the name Pym, but I lost the train of thought when Tony blew him off with ‘who are you?’ before making his way to Sam’s cell beside me. 

“How's Rhodes?” Sam asked, taking the opportunity to get information instead of trying to fight more. We had to stop at some point, I was glad to see that one of us was able to be an adult...I wasn’t sure I was quite there yet. 

“They're flying him to Columbia Medical tomorrow. So... fingers crossed.” Tony paused a second before trying to make friends. “What do you need? They feed you yet?”

“You're the good cop now?” He sounded skeptical.

“I'm just the guy who needs to know where Steve went.” I couldn’t hold in the laugh the barked out of me, Tony didn’t acknowledge it. 

“Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me.” 

“Oh, I just knocked the 'A' out of their 'AV'. We got about 30 seconds before they realize it's not their equipment. Just look. Because that is the fellow who was supposed to interrogate Barnes.” I leaned around as far as I could to be able to see out of my cell, he was showing Sam a holographic on his watch but i couldn't see what it was. “ Clearly, I made a mistake. Sam, I was wrong.”

“That's a first.”

“Cap is definitely off the reservation but he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other very well. You don't have to…”

“Don't’ tell him Sam.”

“Hey, it's alright.” Sam sighed, he wasn’t happy about any of this but if Tony knew the truth...maybe... “Look, I'll tell you... but you have to go alone and as a friend.”

“Easy.” Tony said it like he hadn’t been trying to arrest Steve less than a day ago. 

“Tony.” I said his name but it came out sounding like a warning

“Oh, so you do know my name isn’t Richard. How refreshing.” He finally looked in my direction. 

“Sam...He’s not going to help.” I sat back on my cot, I knew this change of heart was too good to be true. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I’m petty and I'm an asshole and I'm sorry. What is it that you wanted to hear, sweet sweet Finlay?” I rolled my eyes, could he not take anything seriously?

“What I want is for you to think about how your actions affect the rest of us.” She gestures to the raft and the people locked up with her. “We made a choice, but so did you.”

“You made the wrong choice. “

“That’s not how it looks from where I'm sitting, but I understand why you made yours...i think that’s more than you can say about understanding why any of us are here.”

“I’m trying to FIX this.” He was getting impatient, it sucked when people wouldn't listen to reason, didn’t it. 

“I know, and the fact that you acknowledge that there’s something to fix is the only reason I'm saying this.” I leaned toward the bars, it crackled against my skin as I got closer. ”if I see Steve Rogers being brought onto this raft as anything other than your honored guest, I will kill you myself.”

“Threats? Fin, what would our dear Captain have to say about that?”

“I guess that depends on you, doesn’t it.” I sat back on my cot, arms crossed. “Tell him Sam.”

  
  


**[Elena - 05:38 May 12th, 2016 - SIBERIA]**

We landed the jet beside a snow crawler that I assumed belonged to our quarry, the jet’s wings folded over the fuselage to keep from freezing and we started seeing what we could find. I pushed open the locker labeled ‘Romanoff’ and a drawer full of firearms slid out. 

“Help yourself.” I gestured, James hesitated for a moment but he wasn’t about to go in unarmed. He picked up an M249 and surefire casket magazine, slinging it over his arm and walking to stand by Steve as the bay door dropped. Steve looked at him a few times, wanting to say something and talking himself out of it before realizing it wouldn’t hurt to ask. 

“You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?” I loaded a pair of Glock 17s and extra magazines, taking my time tucking them into my belt while they had their moment. 

“Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?” James smiled, not the ‘everything will be okay, i’m fine’ smile he’d been giving Cap since we found him but a genuine smile. My heart hurt a little seeing it and I told myself if we got through this I'd do whatever it took to keep that smile going. 

“You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead.” Steve corrected. 

“What was her name again?” The way he asked made me think it wasn’t the first time he’d had to ask Steve about a girl’s name. 

“Dolores. You called her Dot.”

“She's gotta be a hundred years old right now.”

“So are we, pal.” Steve clapped a hand on Bucky’s shoulder and for the first time he didn’t flinch. I walked up between them, looking up at James with a raised eyebrow.

“Redhead huh?” I teased. 

“I had a phase.” He shrugged, smiling at me. I started walking down the ramp, we needed to get this over with. They followed and I listened to their boots in the snow behind me, it was the only sound other than the wind and it made the hair on my neck raise. When we got to the door it was still open. 

“There’s not much snow.” I looked into the entryway, wiping my boot along the floor. 

“He can't have been here more than a few hours.” 

“Long enough to wake them up.” James added helpfully as Steve stepped in front of me, taking the lead into the bunker. It was a tight squeeze into the metal cage that served as an elevator, but we managed. When it stopped at the bottom the doors slid open and Steve signaled to ask if we were ready before tossing up the cage door. James took the lead, he was the only one of us that knew where to go, Steve took the middle so he could shield for either of us and I brought up the rear. 

We crept along the abandoned corridor, sticking close to the wall as James checked each alcove. As we climbed the stairs a loud clang from behind had us all jump out of our skins. We turned, crouching on the steps, ready for whatever might be coming up behind us. I had one of my guns drawn, leaning around the Shield that Steve was holding out to cover me as well as himself. I spared a glance up the steps and saw James with his rifle trained on the corridor, crouched behind us, Steve saw me looking. 

“You ready?” It was his polite way of telling me to focus and I turned back to the hall.

“Yeah, you?” The sounds were closer now, the banging and clanging of the metal elevator shifting on its ropes. Whatever it was, it was at the door. 

“Yeah.” James answered, adjusting the grip on the barrel of his rifle. 

We watched as the heavy steel doors are pried apart, they resist the intruder but grind open nonetheless. When they lock into place on either side of the corridor, I'm the first to recognise the figure. I holster my gun and use my free hand to lower Steve’s shield. I couldn’t hear anyone else with him and if Tony was here to arrest us he wouldn’t have come alone. At least i didn’t THINK he was that stupid. He retracts his helmet as he walks toward us cautiously, I feel Steve straighten behind me before laying a hand on my shoulder. I get his meaning and step aside, letting him pass. He keeps his shield up as he walks to meet Tony in the middle, James keeping his sights trained on his vulnerable head. 

“You seem a little defensive.” Tony broke the silence first. 

“It's been a long day.” Steve answered flatly, unamused with Tony’s attempt at levity. 

“At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you.” He addressed James, who was unswayed by his words and kept the rifle where it was. I couldn’t really blame him, I’d only lowered my weapons because I didn’t actually want to KILL Tony. It didn’t mean I wouldn't put up a fight if he tried to take James from me. 

“Then why are you here?” Cap asked the question we all wanted answered, it wasn’t that long ago we were watching him help Fin and the rest of our friends into federal custody. 

“Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way.” He leaned casually on a column, trying to look non-threatening. “Otherwise, I gotta arrest myself.” 

“Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork.” Cap lowers his shield and for a moment I'm confused, how is he so calm? Tony just admitted to our faces that he was breaking the same laws that he just arrested our friends for breaking and we were supposed to just act like everything was fine? Steve looked over his shoulder at us before adding, “It's good to see you, Tony.” It clicked then, he was still mad but he wasn’t stupid. We could use all the help we can get right now. We’d deal with the rest later. 

“You too, Cap. Elena.” He nodded at me before looking over my shoulder at James.” Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop…”Steve turned back to see the rifle still trained on Tony, I laid a hand on the barrel and lowered it myself. James looked between me and Steve with the same lack of understanding I'd had initially but he trusted us, and that was enough. 

  
  


**[Bucky - 06:01 May 12th, 2016 - SIBERIA]**

_ When the truth hunts you down - Sam Tinnesz _

Tony got us caught up to the situation with Zemo and Steve insisted that ‘Ironman’ take the lead, there was no argument from him. I didn’t think Stark realized that it wasn’t a show of good faith to let him go first, the fact that we didn’t trust him to have our backs seemed completely lost on him. 

“I got heat signatures.” Tony didn’t stop so I followed him through the open doors and into the larger chamber. 

“How many?” Steve asked, I heard Stark answer that there was only one as I surveyed the room, Elena close beside me. 

The chamber was vast...and familiar, lights started coming on all around us, illuminating the yellow stained capsules that were made to hold the soldier in stasis. As we got closer I could see the corpses inside, that’s all they were now...and I recognized them all. Elena touched my arm, a silent ‘are you alright’ passing between us. I gave her a quick affirming nod before she fell into step behind me while we swept the room. 

“If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep.” A german accented voice announced over a loudspeaker. I looked closer at the dead soldiers, each one had been shot execution style in the head. Whoever we were up against was smart enough to know he wouldn’t have stood a chance if he’d woken them up first. “Did you really think I wanted more of you?”

“What the hell?” I hadn’t noticed that I'd said it outloud until I saw Elena’s face. I tried to relax, ease her mind, but it was hard to do with my own mind racing through the reasons this guy would have lured us here. That’s what this was, I realized now, this was all a trap to get us here...but why?

“I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here.” The voice confirmed my suspicions as a light came on in an adjacent room, illuminating a familiar face. Steve threw his shield at the glass but it did nothing. “Please Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets.”

“I'm betting I could beat that.” Stark said confidently, arm poised to shoot. 

“Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came.” Zemo’s voice grew more and more smug with every word. I felt Elena’s eyes on me and when I turned to her she nodded toward the door. She wanted me to go, to get out of here. She knew it was a trap and she thought it was meant for me, she was telling me to run. She was probably right but i wasn’t doing that anymore. I stepped up to her, keeping her pressed at my side as we moved toward Zemo behind the others. 

“You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?” Steve was looking through the glass, trying to get a read on Zemo as he stepped closer to the window to look Steve in the eye. 

“I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized... “ He paused, not breaking eye contact as he spoke, seeing if Steve was going to back off first. “there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw.” I wasn’t sure what Zemo was getting at but Steve was picking up the hints Zemo was dropping. 

“You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?” Steve asked, trying to keep his tone even. 

“Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise.” His eyes started to tear up as he answered, unable to keep up the tough guy act he’d been pushing during the staring contest. Again, Steve didn’t miss the details. 

“You lost someone?” His voice was softer than before, more understanding. It didn’t justify killing innocent people, but it gave us some insight. Zemo swallowed a few times, making sure his voice was unwavering before he spoke again. 

“I lost everyone. And so will you.” He turned away from the window, pressing some buttons that activate a screen in the room with us. The still frame is blank, all but a date written in russian. 

**16 декабря 1991**

Steve stepped toward the screen, watching...waiting. I didn’t need to do either, i knew what happened on that day. My eyes flicked to Tony who was still watching Zemo, he hadn’t looked at the screen yet.

“Turn it off.” Elena whispered beside me, putting herself between me and Tony. She’d already put the pieces together, she was a clever little volk. 

“An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumples from within? That's dead... forever.”

I hear the helmet opening to expose Tony’s face as he steps up to the monitor. His eyes go wide as they search the footage, the recognition clear in his expression. 

“I know that road. What is this?” He asks Zemo, looking for an answer other than the one his brain was giving him. 

“Tony, you know what it is. Don’t watch, it’s what he wants” She tries to reason with him but he pushes her aside for a better view. When she stumbles into me I catch her, setting her back on her feet without taking my eyes off of Stark. He said he understood and that he was here to help...Steve believed him and I trusted Steve. We were about to find out one way or the other if Steve’s trust was well founded. 

For a few minutes the video only shows an empty road, the wavering lines of analog recording quality are the only thing to reassure us that it’s playing. We watch as a man on a motorcycle, all in black, pulls up beside the car. The car loses control and crashes into a tree, smoke billowing from the hood. 

There is no sound on the video, but it doesn’t matter. I can hear the screeching of brakes locking up too quickly, the shifting of gravel under the tires...the crunch of metal on metal… I look up to see Steve watching Tony, Elena watching Steve. I don’t look at the monitor, I don't need to, I know what happens next. The winter soldier comes back to the car, parks his bike and walks toward the wreckage. He is there with a purpose. He opens the trunk and takes what he needs but he can’t leave the car’s passengers alive. He grabs the man by the hair, the man calls him Sergeant Barnes but there is no Sergeant Barnes in that shell, only the soldier. 

A woman’s voice cries out from the car, ‘Howard’. She is calling for her husband. The soldier slams a metal fist into the man’s face before he can respond. I can feel the crackling of his face breaking and clench my jaw against the feeling, like nails on a chalkboard but with more violence. The soldier drags the dead man back into the driverseat, no one will question his injuries as more than a face hitting the leather wrapped steering wheel. The woman is trapped in the car, she is scared and I can hear her breathing. She doesn’t fight the hand closing around her neck, she’s too weak to fight it. The soldier squeezes until her heartbeat stops thrumming under his palm...my palm...I could try to detach myself from it all I liked, but it was my hand even if it wasn’t my mind. 

“Tony…”Elena offers a hand cautiously “it wasn’t him.” It does nothing to dissuade him and he tries to lunge at me, Steve grabs his arm, holding him back. 

“Tony. Tony.” Steve is trying to get his attention, trying to keep him calm. I can see from the look in his eyes that it’s not working. He does stop struggling against Steve, realization hitting him. He asked another question that he didn’t really want the answer to. 

“Did you know?” Three words. After all of this, everything that they’d built in the way of trust would be solidified or broken here, i had no doubts in my mind as to where the chips would fall and based on Elena’s instinctive reaction to keep herself between Tony and myself, neither did she. 

“I didn't know it was him.” Steve tried to soften the blow but Tony wasn’t having it. 

“Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?” His voice was low and harsh, a more threatening sound than any man yelling. 

“Yes.” Steve admits, Tony steps back in shock before reengaging the helmet and punching Steve to the floor. I fired on instinct, knowing the bullets weren’t doing shit against that armor. The distraction did get him off of Cap but he was on me in a blink, pushing Elena aside to wrench the rifle from my hands before grabbing me by the throat and flying me across the chamber, landing on top of me. 

  
  


**[Elena - 06:27 May 12th, 2016 - SIBERIA]**

I watched Steve charge across the room, shield first into Tony. I stood there stupidly, my brain and body trying to get on the same page of what the fuck was happening!? Steve was thrown back to my side of the room, Tony tossing shackles on him before he could get back up. Right, that’s what was happening. Despite Tony’s big speech about understanding that Zemo was actually the bad guy here he was still going to hold James responsible for things he and no control over...which meant we were still fighting him instead of the real enemy. I knelt beside Cap, trying to remember the fail safe Fin had shown me to get out of the shackles without zapping myself.

“I got it, go!” I looked at him, not understanding. “FIND ZEMO” He clarified. 

“I’m not leaving you two!” I argued, listening to the sounds of a fight behind me and resisting the urge to turn and see who was winning. 

“Yes, you are.” He slammed his shield between his ankles, breaking the energy field of the shackles. “We need Zemo to prove Bucky didn’t bomb the UN. Go, Elena. That’s an order.” I clenched my teeth to hold in the frustrated growl in my throat as I started for the exit, but I shouldn't have bothered. One of Tony’s errant missiles struck a column of metal behind us and sent it crashing to the ground. I looked up in time to see Bucky drop and I ran for him without a second thought. When the dust settled he was pulling me to my feet and looking for Steve. 

“Get out of here!” I heard Cap shouting at us. We ran in the only clear direction we saw as Tony shot at us. I can only assume Steve blocked his path because we somehow got a head start. 

“There.” I pointed to a control panel that looked like it opened something important. James smashed his fist into the button and the top of the defunct missile silo started to open. He climbed onto the lowest platform and turned to me, holding out his hand. I looked behind us, listening to Tony yelling at Steve to move. 

“Go! I’m only going to slow you down.” He started to protest but she cut him off. “I’ll meet you at the jet, he isn’t after me. Now move your ass!” I started taking off layers as watched him move higher, looking back at me every now and then, it was the only way I was going to be fast enough to catch up to Zemo now. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore everything but the sound of james getting out of here as my body shifted into a more lethal form. When i opened my eyes James was nearly at the top, but I heard Tony coming. He flew over me, barely registering when i lept up to grab his metal clad ankle in my jaws. There must have been something going on with his propulsion system because he sank under my added weight. I heard him cuss before I felt my muzzle being slammed into one of the grates James had been climbing and i lost my hold. It wasn’t a long fall to the bottom but it was long enough, i tried to shake off the disorientation as Steve jumped over me and up the silo after Tony. I had to go, Steve was right, if I didn't catch Zemo this was all pointless but I wasn’t even sure how to get to the room he’d been in, let alone where he was now. The doors we’d come in were sealed, the only exit I could see was the exhaust vents at the bottom of the silo. It would have to do. 

I couldn’t help but glance up at the fight happening above me as I moved across the debris to the exit. I tried not to pay attention, tried to tell myself that Steve had it handled but their voices echoed down the empty chamber and held me back with every word. 

“He’s not going to stop. Go.” Steve spoke softly but even I could hear the fear in his voice. I looked up to see him grapple Tony and jump, dragging him down and giving James a chance. I didn’t make it far before the shield clattered to the ground in front of me, the roof of the silo slamming us into darkness shortly after. I looked up one last time before stepping out into the snow, Tony had Bucky but Steve was climbing. I had to go, if Steve couldn’t slow Tony down I wasn't going to be able to but I could make sure that we got Zemo...and that Tony doesn’t leave if I didn’t want him too. 

“Do you even remember them?” Tony’s whisper was more terrifying than any threat i’d ever heard him shout but it was Bucky’s response that made my hackles rise. 

“I remember all of them.” 

I didn’t see what happened, but I heard them all crash to the bottom of the shaft. Bucky landed furthest from me, Tony crashing on the concrete lip I’d just come down as Steve rolled nearly to me. His body was limp when he landed and had to reassure myself that he was breathing before I found the strength to move. I wanted to run in, I wanted to grab James by the collar and drag him out with me but Tony was between us. I backed further out as I watched Steve get to his feet, he was a little unsteady but he was up and nothing looked broken. 

“This isn’t going to change what happened.” He tried to reason with Tony but we both knew we were beyond that. 

“I don’t care. He killed my mom.” 

I couldn’t stop the angry voice in my mind from yelling that it wasn’t James, it hadn’t been the same man. The Winter Soldier had killed my family too and I hated that person for taking them from me, but it wasn’t James. It may have been his body, his hands, but it wasn’t his mind. It wasn’t his choice. 

A familiar scent on the wind distracted me and I turned to face the source. It wasn’t Zemo, but it was someone that I needed to find. The path from the silo and around the compound was more treacherous than I’d anticipated, mostly ice and rock. I felt the pads of my feet slipping a few times and dug in my nails to stay upright. When I finally reached soft snow I didn't see the man whose scent I'd been tracking, I imagined that his all black facade would be easily spotted in the vast white nothing around me, but I did hear a voice. 

“Please just try, okay?” A woman’s voice. “I’m going to bed. I love you.” I followed the sound and watched as Zemo listened to the voice on his phone. On instinct I crouched to disappear in the rocks and snow drifts when i caught movement in my prefrial, i should have realized T’challa was there sooner but it was too late now. He was approaching Zemo and I didn’t know if I should try to stop him or help him. He’d been fighting against us since Berlin and I didn't know where he stood now. 

“I almost killed the wrong man.” He addressed Zemo as he laid his helmet in the snow. He knew? He knew it hadn’t been James? 

“Hardly an innocent one.” Zemo didn’t look up from his phone. 

“This is all you wanted? To see them rip each other apart.” T’Challa moved closer and I did the same, keeping enough space between us to get a head start back to the quinjet if I needed to. I hoped I wouldn't need to. 

“My father lived outside the city. I thought we would be safe there. My son was excited. He could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, ‘Don't worry. They are fighting in the city. We're miles from harm.’ When the dust cleared... and the screaming stopped. It took me two days until I found their bodies. My father... still holding my wife and son in his arms.” Sokovia, this was all about Sokovia? James had nothing to do with it other than being used as a tool to turn us against each other? “And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But, if I could get them to kill each other... I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man. With a dutiful son.” I held my breath, I waited for T’challa to try to strike and coiled myself to stop him. He could kill Zemo after he testified to framing James. 

“Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them.” He looks back toward the compound and sees me, although I remind myself he doesn't know it’s me. He closes his eyes, shaking his head as he retracts the claws in his gloves. “I am done letting it consume me. Justice will come soon enough.”

“Tell that to the dead.” Zemo pulled a gun and I lept towards them without thinking. I wasn’t fast enough to stop him but T’Challa was closer. He caught the barrel in his hand, deflecting the bullet before grabbing Zemo and holding him down.

“The living are not done with you yet.” He whispers. Seeing that he has the situation under control I approached, T’Challa looked me in the eyes for a long moment before smiling. “Neglosi. You look different. Have you done something new with your hair?” I walked around to the front of them, gently taking Zemo’s pant leg in my teeth in a ‘come on’ gesture. T’Challa pulls the captive to his feet, keeping his hands controlled as he marches him behind me. We reach the jet and T’Challa gets Zemo properly restrained while I change back into myself, grabbing spare clothing from the lockers on board. I started to walk back out into the snow but T’Challa stopped me. 

“It’s too cold to go like that.” He looks down at her clothes, they aren’t exactly cold weather gear. 

“I can’t stay here, I have to stop Tony.”

“I will go. You watch him. It is the least I can offer for not listening to you sooner.” He steps back into the open air and despite fighting him hours ago she trusts him to bring James back to her.

  
  


**[Steve - 06:58 May 12th, 2016 - SIBERIA]**

_ Invincible - All good things _

Tony grabbed the shield before wrenching it off my arm and throwing it away. He hammers me with a barrage of hard hits that send me stumbling before blasting me head over heels. I get to my feet and he blocks my hit before zapping me again and bringing me to my knees next to Bucky who’s still laying on his back. I don’t try to get up, I’m between them where I am and that’s where I want to be. I’m breathing heavy and can feel the rattle of at least one broken rib as I inhale to speak. 

“He's my friend.” They’re the only words I can get out, but they’re the ones that matter. 

“So was I.” He doesn’t even take off the mask to answer me, instead he throws a left hook into my jaw followed closely by a right. I lean over and cough up blood that I hope was from my mouth and not anywhere more traumatic. He grabs me by my shoulder harness and throws me into one of the concrete pillars, my shaken brain absently notices pawprints in the snow. “Stay down. Final warning.” I hate it when people tell me what to do. I brace myself against the cold concrete, pushing myself upright as I get unsteadily to my feet. I struggle more than I care to admit to get upright, but I manage. 

“I can do this all day.” I raise my fists, mentally apologizing to Fin and Elena if we don’t make it out of here as Tony raises a gauntlet. I hear it priming as he aims it at my face. I know i can take the hit, I just don’t know what kind of shape I might be in afterwards. 

I watch Bucky roll to grab Tony’s leg in an attempt to stop him from shooting me. He turns and kicks Bucky in the face but it’s all the distraction I need. I grab the suit anywhere I can get a hand hold, lofting him over my head and throwing him to the ground as hard as I can when he tries to fly away. I jump on him before he can get up, punching the facemask over and over. I feel the bones in my hand break but I can't stop. I grab the shield and keep hitting until the facemask breaks away. Tony throws up his hands when I move to strike again and the fear in his eyes lets me know that he expects me to go for his head. He thinks I'm going to kill him. 

I don’t. I never wanted him dead, I just wanted him to stop. I drive the edge of the shield into the suit’s power core, closing my eyes pressing down until I hear it crack. I can’t breathe, at some point one of the broken ribs made its way into my lung and I was struggling, but it was done. I roll off of him, unable to catch myself as I fall back into the snow, leaving the shield stuck upright in the suit. I can’t stay down, I can't lay here and catch my breath. I can’t give Tony the chance to get back up before I’ve gotten Bucky out of here. 

For the second time I manage to get my feet under me, this time there is a lot more praying that they stay there. I pull the shield free and strap it to my arm before stepping over Tony and helping Bucky to his feet. He looks rough, his metal arm is gone, but he’s conscious which is more than I could hope for in the moment. I wasn’t sure i’d be able to carry him out. 

“That shield doesn’t belong to you.” Tony spat from the ground. “You don’t deserve it!”

I tried to ignore him. 

“My father made that shield!” I stopped. Howard had made this shield, he made it for me. He made it for Captain America...and if I had to choose between Captain America and Bucky Barnes...well…

I dropped the shield and walked away. I didn’t bother looking back. 


	9. Insomnia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Content Warning*   
> This chapter contains strong Non-Con situation. Reader discretion advised.

**[Fin - 09:16 May 13th, 2016 - THE RAFT]**

_ Make it Rain - Matt McAndrew _

Barton and Scott had been offered deals to get out and be with their family. I couldn’t blame them for taking them but they were still here with us. Similar deals were offered to the rest of us, but we all knew it was only trading our freedom for Steve and none of us were willing to do that. 

**ZAP. ZAAAP. ZAAAAAAP** I felt the sound in my teeth.

“Fin, what the hell are you doing?” Sam asked from his cell beside me, carefully avoiding the electrified bars himself as he tried to see around the corner.

“I’m building up a tolerance” I gave the bars a quick tap with my fingertips and felt a mild tingle. The first time I’d touched them I’d been knocked out and my arm was still numb when I woke up. I had been doing this every night since but no one had seemed to notice, that was good. I was hoping someone would notice now, someone other than Sam. As if on queue a pair of guards entered the room. 

“Ms. Coulson--”

“AGENT!” I corrected them as I slammed my fists against the bars, causing a brief flash of light. I shook my head against it. 

“Ms. Coulson” the guard repeated. “We’re going to need you to calm down.”

“I am calm.” I touched the bars again, gritting my teeth against the current.

“Please, stop doing that.”

“Or what?” I smiled. 

“Or we’ll be forced to sedate you to keep you from hurting yourself.” he took a step closer and whispered. “I knew your father...i don’t want to have to drug you.”

“Bullshit. If you really knew my father you wouldn’t be on that side of the bars. Don’t disrespect his memory to try to keep me ‘cooperative’.” The second guard rolled his eyes and stepped up to the first, whispering something I couldn't make out through the ringing in my ears. Not that I was trying to listen, I was too busy figuring out how far outside my cage they were. The second guard reached in his pocket, pulling out a syringe that I presumed held the aforementioned drugs. I hoped it was a normal dose and lunged. 

My face hit the bars and I felt my cheek tingle before going numb, I tried to ignore it. I could barely feel my arms through the energy field, it was like trying to get a limb that’s fallen asleep to cooperate, but they did. I grabbed both men by whatever parts of their clothes I could hang on to and I yanked them into the cell wall. With a satisfying ZAP like a moth into a bug zapper, they collapsed. I fumbled clumsily through their pockets and found the keycard that deactivated the cell door. As soon as it was open, I moved to the next, ready to free my friends and make an escape but the hall door opened before I could get it. I threw the card to Sam but didn’t have time to see it had made it to him before the new guard in the room was on me. I reached for his fallen comrades and picked up the syringe, plunging it into his neck. He fell and I kept it in my hand, empty but still my only weapon. I took down two more guards before I felt the prick in the side of my neck, groggily pulling out the dart as my vision blurred. 

“Son of a…”

My head was foggy, thoughts clouded by whatever drug they’d been pumping into me. I could see the IV sticking out of my arm just above the restraints. Someone I could only assume passed as a doctor on the raft paced the room beside me. 

“How are you awake right now?” He checked my IV line and vitals. “This dosage would have someone twice your size in a medically induced coma.” I looked him over, estimating him to be about twice my size. 

“Just lucky I guess.” My voice was scratchy and my mouth felt dry, I wondered how long I'd been out. “Can I have some water?” I watched him walk to a sink, filling a plastic cup and digging a straw out of a cabinet before cautiously walking back. I counted his steps from the sink to my bedside. He pressed a button out of sight that raised me to a sitting position and held out the water. I found the straw with my mouth and sucked it down. 

“More?” he offered, I nodded. I pushed the arm without an IV through the restraint cuff, twisting my wrist to work my way under the clasp until I felt it give. I pulled my wrist back into the strap as the man came back. I leaned forward, watching his face as I drank the water more slowly this time. “I’m sorry, about keeping you in here. We were worried you were going to hurt yourself in the cell.”

“How considerate of you.” I said flatly, his face told me he didn’t appreciate my ungratefulness. 

“You put yourself here, you know. No one made you break the law.” He pulled the water away, holding it just out of reach as he waited for me to justify myself. When I didn’t he moved it closer and I shifted toward him, my face hitting the cup and knocking it out of his hand. I tried to play it off as though i’d been reaching for it as he moved but he seemed more annoyed than concerned. When he knelt to clean up my mess, I moved, freeing my hand and pulling out my IV. I stabbed it into the doctor’s neck as he stood, catching him on my lap as the sedative took effect. 

“No one made me do that either.” I whispered as he lost consciousness. 

**[Bucky - 20:47 May 14th, 2016 - WAKANDA]**

_ Insomnia - IAMX _

_ The light in my eyes was blinding, I didn’t know where I was. The last thing I remembered was Steve carrying me out of the compound, Elena waiting for us...the injuries from the fight finally catching up to me. The pain of the bruises and broken bones were nothing compared to the burning in my shoulder where Stark had blown off my arm. I felt my teeth grinding against the need to shout out.  _

_ ‘I’m sorry, I’m working as fast as I can!’ An unfamiliar woman’s voice sounded panicked as another jolt of electricity arched from my shoulder across my chest. My body tensed and I felt my back lifting off the cold metal table under me.  _

_ ‘It’s hurting him’ Elena...Elena’s voice.  _

_ ‘STOP.” Steve. He wasn’t yelling but his voice was firm. ‘Don’t touch him. Let her finish.’ _

_ ‘I’ve almost got it.’  _

_ Got what? What was happening? Another pulse ran through my body, muscles contracting against it in another wave of agony. This time I heard my own voice cry out in an animalistic cry.  _

“I’m here, I’m here. It’s okay.” Elena’s voice whispered in the darkness, soft hands touching my face in reassuring caresses. I grabbed her wrist in my hand, turning my face to kiss her palm and pulling her closer. “How do you feel?” How did I feel...I kept my eyes closed, taking inventory. I felt...alright. I replayed the fight in my mind, taking inventory of the injuries I knew I should have and found none. How long had I been out?

“Tony?” 

“We got away from Tony. Steve got you back to the jet, you were both so banged up…”

“Steve?”

“He’s worried about you. I tried to put you both back together but something went wrong.” The concern crept back into her voice. I tried to wrap my other arm around her but nothing happened, I started remembering the pain. 

“Arm.” It was all I had to get out. 

“What was left of it started going haywire, shocked the shit out of me.” She admitted. I opened my eyes for the first time since we started talking to look her over, leaning on my remaining arm to sit up before moving my hand to reach for her face. She leaned into my touch, pulling her legs up beside me as she sat on the bed. 

“Are you ok?” It was the longest sentence I'd managed to string together since I'd woken up and I heard my voice crack. 

“Yeah.” She didn’t sound convincing and must have realized I wasn’t buying it. “I’m fine. Steve pulled my off of you before too much damage was done.” She tried to flash a smile but there wasn’t much effort in it. I looked down to her hands and saw the pink tinge of electrical burns across her palms. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of hurting her, losing her. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, it all seemed unimportant and too important at the same time. I just kept looking at her face, trying to convince myself that she was real as my eyes moved over the curve of her jaw, the blue of her eyes that was unmistakable even in the darkness. She was so beautiful, had I ever told her that? I tried to remember across all the times I’d known her in the past and couldn’t remember. I never took my hand from where it rested on the back of her neck as I brought my face to hers, my lips brushing hers cautiously. When she didn’t pull away I held her tighter, the desperate need to be touching her overwhelming me. 

Her hands ran over my chest, I hadn’t realized that I wasn’t wearing a shirt until I felt her fingers tickling across my ribs in soft exploratory touches. I wasn’t being as gentle and the frustration of only having one arm wasn’t helping matters. My hand moved down her spine, pulling her to me until her chest pressed against mine. Her arms wrapped around my neck in response, staying close. God I needed her, I needed this so badly. 

I turned, rolling her onto her back and pinning her under me as my knee found it’s way between her legs. Her hands ran up the muscles on my back, her nails scratching the skin just enough to leave a trail of goosebumps in their wake. I lowered my face to the deep V of cleavage that had been exposed in the tangling of sheets and clothes when I'd repositioned us. I didn’t stop kissing the tops of her breasts as I tried to hold myself up on what was left of my arm to get my hand between us to undo her jeans as my erection pressed into her hip. 

“James?” She whispered, I moved my mouth back to her throat. I could feel her pulse racing under my lips as I undid her pants, pushing them down slightly before pushing myself up. Looking down at her disheveled top and exposed chest. Her blushing face looking up at me kneeling between her legs. 

_ In a blink the darkness around us changed, replaced by the soft light of the savannah moon filtering through dusty camper windows. My own voice echoing in the room that felt almost too warm with heavy breaths and exposed skin. _

I felt the thin denim in my fist as I pulled. 

_ Other voices...whispers as the needles went in and the heat between my legs throbbed as they demanded my compliance. The cold grip of restraints on my throat as hands pushed and pulled. _

My hand moved across her exposed skin and she writhed under my touch, I kept her legs apart with my own, one pinned beneath my calf. I only stopped touching her long enough to free myself from the loose shorts hanging off my hips, the fabric already straining. 

_ “Do you want me to keep going?” I heard myself growl. _

_ “God yes.” She answered.  _

“James.” She said my name again, this time more frantic and it fueled my need as I remembered the feel of her mouth around my cock and thought of the years I apart that had been wasted. I leaned over her again, my mouth crushing into hers as I shifted my hips between her thighs. Her hands moved to my back again, nails biting hard enough to burn this time. 

“Elena....мой прекрасный волк” I murdered as I buried my face in her neck, pressing forward as her legs tightened around my waist. 

“JAMES!” I heard her yell my name as I felt a crack of pain across the back of my skull. I tried to shake it off and when I sat up again I realized I was laying on the hardwood floor, looking up at her tangled in the sheets on the bed. She held a pillow in front of her, shielding her naked body from view as she looked down at me with wide frightened eyes. 

  
  


**[Elena - 20:58 May 14th, 2016 - WAKANDA]**

“JAMES” I threw him off of me, I’d run out of other options. I could feel myself shaking and reached for the nearest thing to cover myself even though I knew I wasn’t shaking from the cold. I watched him on the floor as the focus returned to his eyes and he looked up at me horrified.

“No...oh no.” He scrambled to his feet. “I’m sorry, Elena I’m so sorry.” He reached for me and I involuntarily flinched away from his touch. 

“It’s okay!” I tried to reassure him with my words despite my physical reaction. 

“It’s not!” He got to his feet and started pacing, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not. Did I hurt you?” He stepped up to me, trying to look me over but keep his distance at the same time. 

“I’m fine, really...James…” I laid a hand on his shoulder to get him to hold still for a second. 

“Did I… ?” He couldn't look me in the eye anymore than he could finish the question. 

“No.” I pulled the strap of my tank top back onto my shoulder. “You didn’t.”

“I thought…”His eyes darted back and forth “I thought it was before...we were in the camper....you said yes and I thought…” 

“James…” I got up and placed my hands on either side of his face. “It’s alright. I’m alright.”

“It’s not.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “It’s not safe for any of you to be around me if i can’t control myself.”

“We’ll figure it out. Together.” I tried to reassure him, I didn’t need him trying to run off and figure things out alone again. He’d tried that already and I wasn’t letting him out of my sight this time. 

“We will.” He kissed my forehead. “Just not tonight. I’m sorry.” He walked out of the room before I could think of anything to say to keep him here. I thought things were supposed to get easier once he remembered me, once we found him, once we got him somewhere safe...

**[Steve - 11:24 May 16th, 2016 - WAKANDA]**

_ Tony, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith is in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you, Tony. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. That's all any of us should. _

_ So no matter what, I promise you, if you need us. If you need me. I’ll be there. _

“It’s a nice gesture Steve, but it isn’t going to change anything.” Elena handed the letter back to me. 

“I don’t expect it to...not really. But you should have seen his face E. He thought I was going to kill him. I thought he knew me better than that.”

“He thought you would kill him because he was prepared to kill you. Tony only sees people as far as who they are in relation to him. Outside of that he doesn’t bother.” She shrugged. 

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? I mean, he did just get shown a video of me killing his parents. I’d want to kill me too.” Bucky sat at the table with us.

“The fact that you can see his side of things and try to argue for him after everything he did is proof that you’re the better person. Even before the tape he never stopped to consider anyone else’s perspective.” Elena laid her hand on Bucky’s remaining arm as she spoke and he flinched but didn’t pull away. He’d been less jumpy since we landed in Wakanda but something had happened between them. I wasn’t sure what but they were both adults, if they wanted my help they would ask for it. 

I pulled out the schematics that T’Challa had managed to dig up, he said that he wasn’t sure how accurate or up to date they were but it was better than nothing. I unrolled them across the table, setting random things from the table on the corners to hold it open while we strategize. 

“So, what’s the plan?” I looked at them and they looked back at me. I was usually the one making the plans but I wasn’t the captain of anything now. 

“We need to find it first, that’s the hard part.” Elena leaned over the table. “Once we’re in it’s only a matter of taking out the guards. Once they’re out of the way the rest is easy, I’ve already got Shuri working on basically a digital skeleton key.”

“Well the good news is that T’Challa knows where it is, he’s given me the coordinates.”

“That’s helpful, but it doesn't get us in.” We both looked at Bucky, waiting. “It’s underwater, right? What are we going to do, ask politely that they surface and let us in?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Elena’s eyes lit up. “Only it’s not going to be us asking.”

“We can’t ask T’Challa to risk himself like that.” I shook my head. I’d thought of that too but he would be connected to the break out and any chances of us staying safe in Wakanda afterwards would be out of the question. 

“Not T’Challa.” Elena tapped on the letter. “We still have one of the quinjets, right?”

“Yeah but we’ve deactivated anything that connects back to Tony because it could be traced.”

“Sure, but we still have those codes. Turning them off isn’t the same as deleting them. We would only need them on long enough to hail the raft, we could have them shut back down before Tony even realizes that they were online.”

“It might work.” Bucky shrugged. 

“It might have to.”

  
  


**[Fin - 23:19 May 19th, 2016 - THE RAFT]**

“Fin. Wake up.” Steve was shaking my shoulder, jostling me on the bed. I looked around the room, it wasn’t our house. I looked up at my hands, covered in metal restraints that looked like something from an alien movie. I pulled but my hands wouldn’t budge, my feet were held by a similar contraption and it wasn’t making me feel any better. “Hey, hey. It’s ok. Stop that.” Steve reassured me, laying a hand on my ribs to keep me still. 

“Get me out.” I looked at him, not understanding why he was so calm. Had something happened? Had I done something wrong?

“I will, I came to get you out. But I need you to calm down or they aren’t going to take those off.” He gestured to my restraints. “They’re afraid of you.”

“Why?” I was having trouble forming a cohesive picture in my head. The last thing I remembered was trying to escape from the doctor on the raft… “I just wanted out, I don't like being trapped.” I explained, pulling against my bonds. 

“Shhh. I know.” He leaned closer, putting his wait on the mattress beside me. “It’s why I’m here. I’m getting you out, I promise.”

“How? How did you get here? Did Tony find you? What happened?” I was starting to remember. “You shouldn’t be here! They aren’t going to let you leave!” I shouted as I started to try and free myself, panic setting in.

“Fin, FIN!” He raised his voice to be heard over my protests, taking my face in his hands to steady me. “I know. I’m staying, they’re letting you leave.”

“No.” I shook my head. “They aren’t going to actually do that, are you really that naive? Even after everything, you think they are going to just let me walk away in exchange for you?” I tried to look past him to see if he’d come alone to do this, knowing Elena would have never let it happen. 

“Yes...Tony-” he started. 

“TONY!?” I threw myself back onto the bed in disbelief. “Fuck Tony.”

“He arranged for everyone to get off the raft, their deals are in place if they agree to them. Clint and Scott are already home with their families.”

“What about Sam? Wanda?” 

“Tony’s working on it.”

“And Bucky?” I asked, searching his face. 

“Bucky’s in the wind.” He exhaled, shaking his head. “We got to the compound, with the other enhanced soldiers. They were all dead and he ran the first chance he got. It was a trick, a lie to get us to help him escape from Berlin.” I couldn’t believe it, Bucky might have wanted to be left alone but he could have run before the airport, he could have stolen the quin jet while the rest of us were fighting and gone anywhere, he didn’t have to trick us into flying into Serbia to get away...but Steve had no reason to lie to me.

“And Elena?” I asked, if this was true...god she’d be heart broken. 

“She’s fine.” He chuckled. “She’s mad. She’s helping track him down.” 

“That’s what I thought.” I laughed, masking the hurt that I felt when I finally put it all together. I sat up and spat in his face, watching the photostatic veil crackle under his hand as he wiped the saliva away. 

“That was uncalled for.” His voice changed, it started as Steve but waivering like an out of tune radio as his hands reached for the back of his head, peeling off the nanomask. 

“So was trying to trick me.” I looked him dead in the eyes. “If you’re smart, you will NEVER try to use him against me again.”

“We just want to know where your boyfriend and Barnes might be. If you tell us, we can probably allow you some freedoms that are currently lacking.” He tapped the restraints to emphasize his meaning. 

“Well, you mentioned Serbia and the other Winter Soldiers. I assume you followed Tony there?” The man’s voice stayed stoic, not reacting to my words. “Right. But if you’re asking me about it then Tony didn’t get them and he doesn’t know where they went… and neither do I” A genuine giggle escaped me. 

“Barnes and Rogers almost killed Tony Stark. Do you know what that means?” he asked seriously. 

“It means he got in their way and he’s lucky he was up against people who don’t like to kill their friends.”

  
  


**[Bucky - 06:00 May 24th, 2016 - WAKANDA]**

_ The War - SYML _

I’d worked it all out with the girl who’d fixed my arm...Shuri. She seemed to be more excited to make me a new one but I wasn't in a hurry to replace it, I felt lighter without it and it wasn’t just the weight of the metal. For now I was more concerned with my head and she said that she could at least figure out the problem but it might take longer to fix it than to pinpoint it. I’d been trying to do this on my own for a long time and while I’d made progress there were some things I still didn’t have a handle on and it was hurting the people around me. I was tired of running away and hoping I could find myself on the way. I was tired of being alone, but I couldn’t be with the people I cared about if I wasn’t in control. 

“You sure about this?” Steve asked as I went through some final medical checks. I knew he was as bothered by it as Elena was but they had both agreed it was my decision when I’d first approached them with the idea. 

“I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing” My eyes darted to Elena “...for everybody.” We’d had this conversation already, a few times. I knew he was just giving me one last chance to change my mind. 

Elena walked with me to the chamber, I leaned back into it with uncomfortable familiarity and told myself this time would be different. This time when I woke up I would remember who I was...I would be myself. 

“See you when you wake up.” Elena kissed me on the cheek. 

“Counting on it.” I smiled, watching her as they closed the glass until it froze over and I couldn’t fight sleep anymore. 

  
  


**[Elena - 11:03 May 26th, 2016 - THE RAFT]**

_ Holding out for a Hero - Nothing but Thieves _

I spent the flight obsessively checking and rechecking my gear to try and keep my mind off of how that morning had started. It wasn’t working. I understood his reasoning, god knows I made him explain it enough times, but it didn’t make it easier. It didn’t make it easier to watch him smile at me when he said it was best for everyone, it didn’t make it easier to watch them put him under. It didn’t make it easier to know that when we got back he wasn’t going to be on the tarmac to greet us. 

“Two minutes.” Steve’s voice broke through my thoughts. “You ready?” I nodded. He squeezed my shoulder as he moved past me toward the doors. 

“They are hailing us, I'm sending the codes now.” Shuri’s voice spoke calmly over the radio, she was piloting us remotely and while it took some getting used to it wasn’t that much different than when Tony gave Jarvis the wheel. “We’re in!”

“You sure you’re up for this?” He asked when I took my place beside him, ready to storm the raft as soon as we were in. 

“If I'm not, it’s a little late now.” We watched the dark metal structure emerge beneath us like some ancient sea monster rising up to swallow us whole. The top started to unfold as soon as it was clear of the water and we heard the clear to land over the radio. “Into the belly of the beast.”

The landing gear doesn’t touchdown before Steve is jumping out and onto the first guard in sight. 

“What is he doing? I haven’t landed!” Shuri asks over the coms. 

“He’s impatient.” I sigh, following his lead. 

“No wonder my brother likes him, Are all men like this?”

“I’ll tell you when I meet one who isn’t.” I tried to tell myself that James wasn’t, but something told me Steve learned some of his impulse control from him. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, he was supposed to be here with us, on this mission with us, not in cryo. The fist fight happening around me was a temporary distraction but I couldn’t help thinking we’d be less outnumbered with him here. Not that Steve wasn’t doing a wonderful job of taking his frustrations out on the dozen or so guards that came out to greet us. 

Shuri had the rest of the system under her control before the last man hit the floor. Steve looked over his shoulder to check in with me, I wasn’t sure why, he’d had it handled most of them himself. I had my own stuff going on and hadn’t noticed the constant tick of his jaw until we’d been flying out. I wondered how long it had been happening. 

“The raft is yours.” Shuri confirmed “I have the main system unlocked but not the cells, I assume you aren’t releasing every person here, right?”

“Right.” I answered as we walked through the security room and into the first level of cells. Some of the lights were out but I could see Sam pacing. “After you.” I let Steve lead the way. 

“Son of a bitch.” Sam smiled when we walked out of the shadows. 

“It’s good to see you too.” Steve grinned. 

“Steve?” Wanda’s voice echoed from a cell to our left. I went to her while Steve caught up with Sam, I found her in a straight jacket with it’s own lock inside the cell. 

“What the fuck.” It wasn’t a question, it was the only way to express my disbelief. “Shuri, open all the cells on this level. All friendlies.” 

“On it!”

“Shuri?” Wanda looked confused and I did my best to summarize while the cells opened and I started unfastening her restraints. 

“Where’s Fin?” Steve was looking around the cells. We knew that Barton and Lang were already out on some deal so it didn’t take long to realize who we were missing. 

“They took her through there” Sam nodded at a door that I assume led down to the next level.

“Why?” I helped Wanda to her feet. 

“She kept trying to escape,” Wanda smiled. 

“I’m not sure where she planned to go but damn if it wasn’t fun to watch.” Sam added. 

“Find her.” he was looking at me, all of the relief of reuniting with Sam gone from his features. I handed Wanda off to Sam and took off through the door. It was a stairwell on the other side and I started down them searching for a scent. Steve was right behind me by the time I caught something a few floors down, he didn’t wait for Shuri to unlock the door. 

Fin’s body was hanging suspended from four pod-like manicales that encased her hands and feet, her head hung between her shoulders and an IV drip rested on a hook just out of reach. Without a word Steve ran to undo her bonds. She moved faster than either of us could see, her arm swinging down at his head with a large gauge needle in her bloodied fingers. He got his arm up in time to block the blow but I could see his arm shaking under the force of her effort to succeed in her attack.

“Steve?” Her eyes are glazed and she’s looking at him with a furrowed brow. 

“Shh, it’s me.” He takes the needle out of her shaking grasp and I realize it’s her IV. She must have taken it out to improvise a weapon. “It’s okay. I’m getting you out of here.”

“No...no, no. NO!” She yells past him to the open door behind us. “This isn’t fair! Stop using him against me!”

He looks at me, confusion on his face. I step around him to read the label on her IV.

“This is an animal tranquilizer, it’s used on elephants...i’m not even sure how she’s awake right now, let alone talking.” 

“Fin.” Steve takes her face in his hands. “Fin, it’s me.” She squeezes her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“That’s what I thought last time, but it wasn’t you. They were lying because they wanted me to tell them where you were, The real you...but I didn't.”

“How could you? You didn’t even know where we were?” Steve answered her gently, wiping away her tears. 

“That’s what I told you! I told the truth, I told you…” She was crying again but stopped when I walked into her field of vision. “Elena?”

“Hey. Are you ready to get out of here?” I asked softly

“Are...are you real?” The quiver in her voice tugged at my heart.

“Last time I checked.” I smiled and Fin’s eyes darted to Steve. “Is he real?”

“Yeah Fin. It’s really us.” 

“If…If you’re real, I need you to do something for me.” She takes a couple deep breaths, calming herself. “And I need him to not be here for it.” I knew what she was asking, we’d been in a situation before where she’d been drugged, there was only one fast way to get it out of her system. 

“I can do that.” I turned to Steve, he crossed his arms and planted his feet on the spot. “Help me get her up to medical, we came through it on the way in. Then go find her some clothes to wear out of here, we can’t take her like this.” I pointed to her, her body draped in a thin hospital gown. I watched the muscles in his jaw twitch again but he didn’t argue. He ripped the power to her electromagnetic shackles out of the wall. Her limbs released and she immediately dropped to the ground, I barely caught her in time. 

“Sorry, everything’s a little jello right now.” she giggled. Steve carried her up but it took another

staredown to get him to finally leave us unsupervised. 

“Better be quick.” I said as I leaned her against the wall and started searching cabinets, this room was the closest thing I'd seen to a medical bay on the raft and I was hoping I wouldn’t need to improvise. I found a box of single use scalpels, syringes, IV lines; I could make due with just this but it would help if I had one more thing.

“Behind you. Left side.” Fin pointed weakly at the door I’d passed, I’d assumed it was an office or exam room of some sort but when I broke the lock and turned the handle a waft of cold air hit my face. Perfect. I grabbed a bag of O and made my way back to her. “Just like old times.” She smiled. 

“Yeah, but last time I wasn’t trying to get it done before your very concerned boyfriend comes back. Hold still.” I pulled her arm to me, setting the IV and blood bag, opening the valve. “Ready?” I laid the scalpel against her bare leg, femoral artery thumping against my fingers. She nodded and I cut, counting the seconds in my head, we didn’t need to get all of the drugs out but we needed to dilute her system enough that she could filter it out on her own. 30...29...28...

“Fiance. I think.” She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. 

“When did this happen?” Steve hadn’t said anything about it, but he had been a little preoccupied since Berlin. ...21...20...19...

“Airport, I thought he was afraid he wouldn’t get the chance later...if he waited.” 

“So you said no.” It wasn’t a question. ...14...13...12…

“I told him to hang on to the ring.” She smiled. “That was probably stupid.”

“Maybe. But I’m probably not the right person to ask.” I started applying pressure to the wound, slowing the flow of blood onto the tile floor. ...and...3...2...1. I closed the wound, watching as the rest of the IV bag moved down the line before helping her to her feet. “Better?”

“I feel hungover, but better.” She hugged me. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too. Come on.” I grabbed a jug of peroxide from the cabinet, rinsing off her leg before dumping the rest on the floor. It would be silly to think they hadn’t taken samples while she was out but I hoped the drugs in her system would keep them from getting anything useful from it. The government trying to replicate the super soldier serum had proven to be a recipe for disaster, we didn’t need to give them any reasons to revisit that conquest. I heard footsteps outside the door and tensed for a moment, relaxing when I caught Steve’s scent. “Your fiance is getting impatient.” I emphasized the word and she grinned, bouncing to the door and flinging it open. 

**[Fin - 12:08 May 26th, 2016 - THE RAFT]**

I jumped onto him, flinging my arms around his neck and planting my lips on his before he had a chance to speak. He returned the embrace, holding me around the waist as I pulled back from the kiss, our noses still touching. 

“Hi.” I smiled. “Miss me?” I felt the tension in his body ease, but he didn’t put me down. 

“You know, if you’re going to keep doing this i’m going to have to put a tracking device on you.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m starting to think you like making me rescue you.”

“Well...you’re just so good at it.”

“Are you two done? Some of us would like to leave.” Sam stood across the room, arms crossed. 

“I think it’s cute.” Wanda backhanded him. 

“Oh, it’s fucking adorable. I’m happy for them, really. But they can wait until we’re on the plane to play kissy face. Come on.” He walked out, Wanda on his heels. Steve put me down, handing me some clothes that weren’t mine. 

“They were in a locker, it was all I saw that might fit you.” He apologized. I took the clothes, pulling the jeans up under the thin bloodied gown before turning around to take it off. I pulled the hoodie over my head, praying that wherever we were headed had a shower, and turning back to see him looking into the room where he’d found me. I stepped up beside him. 

“Would it worry you more, or less, if I told you that was mine.” his shoulders tensed but he didn’t answer, I laid a hand on his arm. “We had to get the drugs out of my system. Elena wouldn’t have let anything happen.”

“I know.” He took my hand in his, leading me to the hangar. “Let’s get you on the plane.”

“And then kissy face?” I hip checked him as we walked and caught him smiling. 

“As much as you want.”

We managed to keep the pda to a minimum on the jet, limiting ourselves to handholding while Steve and Elena caught us up on everything we’d missed. It was a lot to take in. 

“So, what do we do now?” Wanda asked, wringing her hands. 

“We lay low, keep our heads down.” Steve shrugged. 

“Just like that, we’re out of the game.” Sam hung his head. 

“No. Maybe down, but not out. We aren’t without allies here, just because we aren’t part of the Avengers doesn’t mean we can’t still help people.” She looked at all of us. “We’re just going to have to be more careful.”


End file.
